It would be impossible to overstate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which shattered norms and upended lives around the globe. It certainly created shock waves within neurosurgical departments, perhaps nowhere more than here in New York City, which was struck early and hard by the first surge of cases in March and April 2020.
The story of that first surge, and its devastating fallout, is chronicled in our April 2021 cover package in the journal World Neurosurgery. In three articles, part of the ongoing Annals of Weill Cornell Neurosurgery series, authors share the clinical and business effects of the surge along with the very human side. Personal reflections from redeployed residents and medical students share pages with analyses of the lightning-fast changes required to the practice. The papers cover the immediate shift from in-person visits to telemedicine, the triage of urgent cases during the pause in elective surgery, and the overnight transformation of all support services to a remote workforce.
The articles were spearheaded by Dr. Susan Pannullo, who leads the Medical Student Publishing Group within the department of neurological surgery. The group meets regularly by Zoom, with Dr. Pannullo and guest speakers providing mentorship and career guidance to aspiring neuroscientists. The Annals of Neurosurgery project is led by Dr. Michael Apuzzo; department chair Philip Stieg; and Dr. Paolo Cappabianca, Professor and Chairman of Neurosurgery at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II in Italy.
More about the Annals of Neurosurgery
More about the articles:
COVID-19: A Time Like No Other in (the Department of) Neurological Surgery
The World of Neurosurgery Reimagined Post COVID-19: Crisis ↔ Opportunities
Neurosurgery in COVID-19 Ground Zero: The Weill Cornell Medicine Experience