Brainstormers are in the House

High school students get a thrill from drilling burr holes into skulls. They also dig suturing fruit and placing pedicle instruments into fake spines. A departure from the typical math and history lessons, these activities, conducted after school hours and under the supervision of physicians, are in service of learning about a career in neuroscience.

Every month on a Wednesday afternoon, a group of students from the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine — its curriculum focuses on science, medicine and healthcare — enthusiastically gather for two-and-a-half hours of Brainstormers. This volunteer program was developed and is run by neurosurgery resident Akshay Sharma, MD, in collaboration with several neurosurgery residents and Derrick Obiri-Yeboah (’24), a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

Program addresses diversity in neurosurgery
The goals of Brainstormers are to inspire students who otherwise would not be exposed to careers in medicine, increase diversity within the field of neurosurgery and deepen the clinician participants’ cultural competence.

“We chose to bring Brainstormers to the Cleveland School of Science and Medicine, a Cleveland Metropolitan school, because of its disadvantaged population,” says Dr. Sharma, adding that 100% of students within the entire school district are classified as economically disadvantaged.

Most of the students are without positive role models who look like them, whose lifestyle and upbringing resemble their own, and who are highly successful clinicians. In fact, only 6% of practicing neurosurgeons are women, and fewer than 4% identify as Black/African American.

This disparity was the impetus for CCLCM student Derrick to get involved. The students he interacts with had never before seen someone who looks like him in medicine and neurosurgery. “When I was in college, I saw my first Black neurosurgeon. I posted his photo on my wall, thinking that if he could do it, so can I. He has no idea the impact he has had on me,” he says.

Derrick, who is planning to specialize in neurosurgery, got involved in Brainstormers during his research year because it afforded him more time. The flexibility of the CCLCM curriculum allows him to continue his involvement, and he thinks that if he were in another medical school program, he likely wouldn’t have that same flexibility. “I don’t take that for granted,” he says.

Now in his fifth year of medical school, Derrick has stayed with Brainstormers because of his passion for the program. “Every time, I see the look of awe on their faces,” he says. “They are super excited to be there and to find out, ‘How do I become like you?’”

Grant funding boosts program impact
Dr. Sharma started the Brainstormers program three years ago. Thanks to a generous grant from Cleveland Clinic’s Education Institute in 2023, the group has been able to purchase more educational materials, such as plastic anatomical models, for the students, and continue a paid internship program that accepts three students to help plan the sessions alongside the neurosurgery team and create artwork that illustrates the lessons through their eyes.

The eight-session curriculum includes clinical topics such as cranial and spine trauma; awake brain surgery; stroke treatment; and seizures. The curriculum also covers bioethics and career advice. Residents lead case-based interactive sessions that are followed by an interactive portion that include skills practice, simulations and technology demonstrations. Guest speakers involve healthcare professionals who support neurological care such as EEG technicians, intraoperative neuromonitoring specialists, radiologic technicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, surgical technicians and more.

To date, more than 70 students have participated in Brainstormers, and seven of those students are involved in long-term mentorship with Cleveland Clinic neurosurgery and bioethics faculty.

Surprising effect on burnout
The impact on students has been nothing less than phenomenal, but perhaps surprising is the effect on the residents. Rather than viewing this volunteer commitment as a time burden, they feel that the experience has reinvigorated their love of medicine, given them a renewed sense of purpose and kindled a sense of belonging within their community, all factors that help to combat burnout.

“Everyone involved in the program, myself included, feels that Brainstormers offers a fantastic alternative to our typical schedules and workload,” says Dr. Sharma. “It’s a gift to enjoy high job satisfaction while helping to shape and inspire young minds.”

The team hopes that the Brainstormers program will create a pipeline of young people excited to work in healthcare and impact recruitment efforts toward a more diverse healthcare workforce.

Learn more about Brainstormers and listen to a listen to a MedEd Thread podcast about the Brainstormers program.

Brainstormers Team

Akshay Sharma, MD (PGY-6)
Gregory Glauser, MD (PGY-3)
Roger Murayi, MD (PGY-7)
Derrick Obiri-Yeboah (CCLCM ’24)
Nehaw Sarmey, MD (CCLCM ’16) (PGY-8)
Swetha Sundar, MD (PGY-8), Children’s Hospital Colorado
Josie Volovetz, MD (CCLCM ’19) (PGY-5)
Ben Whiting, MD (PGY-7)