Why Join Congress of Neurological Surgeons?

Joining the Congress of Neurological Surgeons provides neurosurgeons, residents, and medical students with access to educational resources, professional development opportunities, and a global network of over 10,000 members. The organization offers continuing medical education credits, journal subscriptions, annual meetings, and career advancement tools that support practitioners at every stage of their neurosurgical career.

Educational Resources That Support Board Certification

CNS structures its educational offerings around the practical needs of neurosurgeons maintaining their credentials. The Self Assessment in Neurological Surgery examination, required every three years for American Board of Neurological Surgery certification, is accessible through membership. This means you’re not just joining an organization—you’re accessing a tool that’s mandatory for your career.

Beyond SANS, members gain entry to over 100 continuing medical education opportunities annually. These aren’t generic courses. They include specialized webinars on emerging techniques, live surgical demonstrations at the annual meeting, and online modules through CNS Nexus that let you earn credits on your schedule. For practicing neurosurgeons who need 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits yearly, this variety matters.

The organization also runs board review courses for both written and oral examinations. If you’re approaching certification or recertification, having structured prep directly from the professional society that understands ABNS requirements removes guesswork from your study plan.

Publications That Keep You Current

Membership includes digital access to four peer-reviewed journals: Neurosurgery, Operative Neurosurgery, Clinical Neurosurgery, and Neurosurgery Practice. Each serves a distinct purpose in your professional reading.

Neurosurgery publishes primary research and reviews across all neurosurgical subspecialties. Operative Neurosurgery focuses specifically on surgical technique, instrumentation, and procedural innovations—essentially content that translates directly to the operating room. Clinical Neurosurgery serves as the annual register of the CNS meeting, documenting presentations and discussions. Neurosurgery Practice operates as an open-access outlet for case series and clinical studies.

This collection means you’re not chasing down multiple subscriptions or paying journal fees separately. For residents especially, who typically operate on limited budgets, consolidated access to leading journals represents substantial financial value.

Annual Meeting With Practical Networking Value

The five-day autumn meeting differs from typical medical conferences in its structure. Rather than primarily focusing on poster sessions, CNS emphasizes interactive formats—dinner seminars, luncheon discussions, and case-based sessions where attendees work through clinical scenarios together.

This setup creates opportunities for meaningful professional connections. You’re not just collecting business cards at a reception. You’re discussing specific surgical approaches with colleagues who’ve encountered similar challenges, potentially establishing referral relationships or finding future collaborators.

The meeting also functions as a research platform. Presenting your work here puts it in front of neurosurgeons actively looking for new techniques and data to inform their practice. The Donald O. Quest Award ceremony specifically recognizes young neurosurgeon abstracts, giving early-career members visibility.

Career Development Throughout Training Stages

CNS membership adapts to where you are professionally. Medical students join free and access student-specific sessions at the annual meeting, plus discounted registration fees for other events. This early exposure helps you understand the specialty before committing to a grueling residency.

Residents similarly receive complimentary membership. Beyond the obvious financial benefit, this includes free online courses specifically designed for trainees, priority registration for educational courses with limited seats, and eligibility for research fellowships that can strengthen your CV.

For those in active duty military service, CNS waives CME requirements and meeting attendance obligations during deployment—acknowledging that serving neurosurgeons face unique constraints. They also receive discounted dues and complimentary access to select webinars.

Advocacy That Affects Your Practice Economics

The AANS/CNS Washington Committee actively lobbies on reimbursement rates, prior authorization requirements, and liability reform. These aren’t abstract policy issues—they directly impact how much time you spend on paperwork versus patient care, and how much you’re compensated for complex procedures.

The committee maintains a Washington office that tracks legislation affecting neurosurgical practice and mobilizes members when congressional action matters. The Neurosurgery Blog provides regular updates on healthcare policy developments, so you’re not caught off guard by regulatory changes.

For private practitioners particularly, having a professional voice advocating for your specialty’s interests in Washington provides leverage that individual physicians can’t generate alone.

Subspecialty Sections For Focused Expertise

CNS operates joint sections with AANS covering specific areas: cerebrovascular, neurotrauma and critical care, pain, pediatric, spine, tumors, stereotactic and functional, and women in neurosurgery. Membership in CNS or AANS automatically qualifies you to join these sections.

These sections hold their own meetings, publish focused content, and create communities around specific techniques or patient populations. If you’re developing a spine practice or specializing in tumor work, connecting with colleagues in that exact niche accelerates your learning curve and keeps you current on subspecialty-specific developments.

Residents receive automatic enrollment in certain sections like neurotrauma, though they can opt out if desired. This exposure during training helps you identify which subspecialty might suit your interests before you need to choose a fellowship.

Research Support And Fellowship Opportunities

CNS Foundation offers fellowship awards for residents, recent graduates, and established neurosurgeons. These aren’t token gestures—they’re designed to support research that advances neurosurgical knowledge and clinical practice.

The selection process considers both the research topic’s importance to the field and the training environment’s quality. This means your application gets evaluated not just on your credentials but on whether the proposed work matters to neurosurgery’s future.

For residents particularly, fellowship awards provide protected research time that can lead to publications, a crucial currency when you’re competing for jobs or academic positions. The foundation also supports clinical guideline development, ensuring that CNS members have access to evidence-based treatment protocols.

Global Reach With Local Relevance

While based in North America, CNS has expanded to represent neurosurgeons worldwide. The organization provides free online courses to practitioners in developing countries—addressing a real gap in neurosurgical education access globally.

This international dimension creates opportunities you might not expect. If you’re interested in global health work or want to understand how neurosurgery operates in resource-limited settings, CNS connects you with colleagues navigating those challenges. International members bring different perspectives on solving common surgical problems with varying resource constraints.

The organization’s commitment to global neurosurgical education also means you’re part of something larger than improving your own practice—you’re contributing to raising standards worldwide.

When Membership Makes Less Sense

Not every neurosurgeon needs CNS membership equally. If you’re exclusively focused on spine surgery and already belong to specialized spine societies that meet your education and networking needs, CNS might offer less incremental value. The same applies if you’re primarily working in pain management rather than surgical neurosurgery.

The annual meeting’s autumn timing can also conflict with academic calendars or busy fall surgical schedules. If you can’t realistically attend the main meeting due to persistent scheduling conflicts, you lose a significant membership benefit.

Some practitioners find they get sufficient value from their state neurosurgical society or AANS membership alone, and adding CNS feels redundant. This isn’t necessarily wrong—it depends on your specific career needs and whether you’ll actually use what membership offers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CNS membership required to practice neurosurgery?

No. CNS membership is voluntary and separate from board certification through the American Board of Neurological Surgery. However, CNS provides the SANS examination required for ABNS recertification, making membership practically useful for maintaining credentials.

How does CNS differ from AANS?

Both are major neurosurgical organizations in North America. AANS was established in 1931, while CNS formed in 1951 to represent neurosurgeons who felt excluded from AANS initially. They now collaborate on joint sections and advocacy while maintaining separate meetings and publications. Many neurosurgeons join both.

Can international neurosurgeons join CNS?

Yes. CNS offers international membership for qualified neurosurgeons practicing outside North America. The organization actively works to advance neurosurgical practice globally and provides resources specifically for international members.

What’s included in resident membership?

Resident membership is free and includes journal access, CME discounts, reduced annual meeting fees, priority course registration, and eligibility for research fellowships. Residents also receive complimentary access to online educational resources and career development tools.

Making The Decision

CNS membership delivers value through education, publications, networking, and advocacy—but whether that value justifies membership depends on your career stage and goals. Residents and medical students should join given the zero-cost proposition and substantial benefits. Early-career neurosurgeons building their practice will likely benefit from the networking opportunities and CME resources.

For established practitioners, consider whether you’ll actually use the resources. If you regularly attend the annual meeting, need CME credits, read the journals, or want representation in Washington on healthcare policy, membership makes sense. If these don’t align with how you maintain your skills and advance your career, your money might go further elsewhere.

The organization has grown from 121 founding members to over 10,000 worldwide, suggesting it continues meeting needs across the neurosurgical community. Look at what colleagues in your subspecialty and practice type say about their membership experience—their insights will matter more than general descriptions of benefits.