Child Neurology Residency Training Program

Section of Pediatric Neurology

 

Program Overview :

Program Year 1

  • Inpatient Adult Neurology, Neuroradiology, Inpatient Pediatric Neurology, Outpatient Pediatric Neurology Clinic

During the first year of the Child Neurology Residency Training Program, the residents will rotate through several of the Adult Neurology inpatient wards as well as the pediatric inpatient wards. The primary objective during that time is to learn how to take detailed neurological histories and perform complete neurological and developmental examinations on their patients.  Residents learn to establish a neuroanatomic and pathological basis for the patient's symptoms and formulate specific diagnoses and an extended differential diagnosis. The resident will learn which laboratory investigations are appropriate, the mechanisms of arranging such investigations, and interpreting the results in the context of the clinical findings. The resident will also learn how to present the clinical cases in a detailed comprehensive and efficient manner to the co-residents, as well as the attending neurologist.

Program Year 2

  • Adult Consult Service, Inpatient Pediatric Neurology Senior, EEG/EMG, NeuroICU, Outpatient Pediatric Neurology Clinic, Elective

In the second year of the Child Neurology Residency Training Program, the resident will demonstrate the ability to perform neurological evaluations on neonates, infants, and children.  As more senior residents, they will interact with colleagues from other services, such residents and other hospital staff, such as nurses and ward managers. The residents will use the hospital and clinical systems for retrieving laboratory information and medical documentation. The residents will demonstrate knowledgeable diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to emergency consults and the critically ill patient. The child neurology resident will become an independent self-educator by accessing medical literature for expanding their knowledge base.  Child neurology residents will share this knowledge by educating adult neurology residents, pediatric residents, and medical students at the University.

Program Year 3

  • Outpatient Pediatric Neurology Clinic, Neurosurgery, Genetics, Child Psychiatry, Neuropathology, Developmental Pediatrics, Elective

During the third year of the Child Neurology Residency Training Program, the residents must demonstrate increasing understanding and skill in the science and practice of child neurology. They will take increasing responsibility to supervise and educate more junior residents, as well as medical students. They will be responsible for organizing educational rounds. The senior Child Neurology residents will act as the chief residents and be responsible for the resident call schedule, organizing didactic schedules, and insure that there is good communication between the adult neurology and pediatric residents. During the course of the training, the residents will become increasingly engaged and active participants in clinical research. They will be required to present the results of their research in our annual neuroscience meeting.

Inpatient Rotations

During the Child Neurology Residency Training Program 8 months are spent in inpatient consult service. The resident has a responsibility to independently evaluate and manage patients admitted to the neurology service. This would often require supervision of pediatric residents when a neurological patient is admitted to the pediatric service. In addition, the resident will perform consultations on patients admitted to other services, including the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units. Prompt evaluation of the emergency room patients with neurological symptoms will also be required. Following the visit, the evaluation and management is discussed by the resident with the attending neurologist.

Outpatient rotations

During a 4-month outpatient child neurology experience, the resident is exposed to a mixture of general neurology, as well as specialty clinics. The resident will have the opportunity to see many varied and complex child neurology patients, perform an evaluation, and discuss the management of these patients with the outpatient attending neurologist in the clinic. The residents will generally not have inpatient responsibilities during this time, although they will participate in the on-call schedule.

Pediatric Neurology Outpatient Schedule (pdf)

Continuity clinic

Each resident will have a 1/2 day per week continuity clinic throughout the 3 years of training. A faculty member works in parallel with the resident in clinic and is available for supervision. The resident will have the opportunity to work with several different attending neurologists during their continuity clinic.

Electives

During a 4-month period electives in pediatric subspecialties are available throughout the Department of Pediatrics. These elective months are reviewed carefully with the Program Director and evaluated in their context within the resident's entire educational program. Electives in neurosurgery, child development, neurorehabilitation, and genetics are encouraged.

On-call schedule

Night call is shared by residents assigned to a particular service. The child neurology resident takes overnight call on the Adult Neurology service and takes child neurology calls while they are not on adult inpatient service.   These are home calls and in-house pediatric residents manage pediatric neurology patients but the child neurology resident will be called to assist with patient management issues as needed.  Child neurology residents are expected to be available to come in to the hospital when patient care dictates.   Our program is committed to following the guidelines for resident duty hours.