The Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) proudly presents its 2024 achievements, highlighting the launch of innovative products, impactful educational initiatives, and remarkable milestones—all made possible through the unwavering dedication of our members and volunteers. Together, we’re advancing the specialty through education, innovation, and advocacy. Thank you for your support!
Membership Growth and Industry Leadership
In a testament to its expanding influence and dedication to advancing neurosurgery, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons has surpassed 11,500 members, marking sustained growth over the past five years.
To recognize leadership and excellence among our members, the CNS established the Fellow of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (FCNS) designation, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the specialty. Reserved for Active members in good standing—licensed, practicing neurosurgeons in North America—the FCNS designation underscores professional achievement and a deep commitment to neurosurgical advancement. The designation also offers a unique early recognition pathway for residency graduates, acknowledging their dedication even before board certification.
CNS Foundation Impact
The CNS Foundation achieved an incredible milestone in 2024, awarding $748,000 across 22 awards within four key pillars: CNS Guidelines, International Philanthropy, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Clinical Scientist Career Development. Building on this momentum, 2025 will mark yet another significant expansion—introducing three new observership opportunities in Endovascular Neurosurgery and an Endoscopic Fellowship, empowering neurosurgeons worldwide with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities needed to elevate patient care.
CNS Annual Meeting Highlights
The CNS Annual Meeting brings together members from around the globe to share groundbreaking advancements in neurosurgery and engage with the bold new technologies shaping the specialty. The 2024 CNS Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas, achieved record-breaking attendance. Highlights included:
- Record-Breaking Abstract Submissions: Set a new milestone for submissions, showcasing a significant increase in scientific content.
- Historic Meeting Attendance: Representing a diverse group of neurosurgeons and subspecialties—academics, private practice physicians, residents, and beyond.
- Inaugural Wellness Retreat: CNS expanded our wellness offerings at the 2024 Annual Meeting, furthering the goal to provide tools to help neurosurgeons cultivate wellness and resilience.
- Pathway Program: In its fourth year, this groundbreaking CNS Program for high school students encourages underrepresented minorities to consider a career in neurosurgery
Expanded Career Support Resources
We keep you at the forefront of new technologies, techniques, and treatments, empowering you to advance your career, elevate the field and provide the best care for your patients. CNS continued to expand its product offerings in 2024:
- CNS+ Updates: Enhanced in September with new features such as an AI-powered search interface, personalized recommendations, guideline access, and
- CNS Nexus: Now an exclusive member benefit, it hosts more than 600 cases, surgical approaches, and oral board scenarios.
- CNS SANS Flashcard Deck 2: Released in June, this new deck adds 500 cards for board prep, bringing the total to 1,000 cards across both decks. Available through the CNS+ App.
Education and Advancing Scientific Exchange
The CNS is the leader in neurosurgical education, delivering relevant, practice-focused cutting-edge educational experiences to meet today’s challenges. In 2024, CNS offered members diverse opportunities to expand their neurosurgical expertise, including eight virtual and in-person courses, two engaging podcast series, the Neurosurgery Survival Guide App, and a variety of topic-focused webinars throughout the year. This year, members had the opportunity to participate in a combined CNS Neurosurgical Complications Course and record-breaking Neurosurgical Emergencies and Oral Board Review courses. Over the spring and summer, the Neurosurgery Survival Guide was updated to enhance its usability.
In 2025, CNS is planning one-of-a-kind course experiences and flexible learning opportunities tailored to the demanding schedules of neurosurgeons. We are excited to bring back our destination-based Spine Complications and Tumor Complications courses, offering engaging learning in exceptional settings, while continuing to build on the success of our comprehensive online education programs.
Neurosurgery Publications
The CNS Neurosurgery Publications team consistently delivers the high-quality science and research that readers have come to expect. In 2024, Neurosurgery, Operative Neurosurgery, and Neurosurgery Practice continued to receive a steady, robust flow of submissions from a wide, international author base.
- Operative Neurosurgery marked its first year as a fully online-only journal, becoming the first major neurosurgery journal to make this transition. Operative Neurosurgery remains a subscription-based journal and is a key member benefit.
- Neurosurgery Practice, our newest title, reached an all-time high annual submission rate! Neurosurgery Practice is currently indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals and Scopus. Regular readers of the journal will have noticed the September debut of the Global Neurosurgery Essentials Review Series, spearheaded by Global Neurosurgery Section Editor Gail Rosseau, further strengthening international outreach.
Industry Partnerships
This year, 175 companies supported CNS programs and products. We are deeply grateful for their collaboration and commitment to the specialty.
A special thanks to our Transformational Partners, Medtronic and Stryker, and our Partners, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Globus Medical, Aesculap, Siemens Healthineers, and Zeiss. These partnerships empower CNS to advance its mission of enhancing health and improving lives through innovative neurosurgical education, clinical practice advancements, and scientific exchange.
Advocacy
Through advocacy, policy development, and public relations, CNS plays a vital role in advancing neurosurgery’s key health care initiatives on Capitol Hill, including:
- Protecting Patients’ Timely Access to Care
- Championing Fair Reimbursement
- Fixing the Medical Liability System
- Alleviating the Burdens of Electronic Health Records
- Supporting Quality Resident Training & Education
- Improving Competition in the Health Care System
- Continuing Progress with Medical Innovations