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Neurology Residency Program Goals

Program Goals
 - PGY2 year
 - PGY3 year
 - PGY4 year

Rotation Goals
 - Inpatient Ward Rotation
 - Consult Rotation
 - Pediatric Neurology Rotation
 - EEG/Epilepsy Rotation
 - EMG Rotation
 - Neuropatholgy Rotation
 - Movement Disorders (elective)
 - Psychiatry (elective)
 - Neuroradiology (elective)
 - NeuroRehabilation (elective)
 - Neurosonology (elective)

Conferences

Rotation and Scholarly Activity Requirements

Program Goals

PGY-2 Year
Knowledge: The resident will develop a fundamental knowledge base covering clinical neurology and basic neuroscience. Residents will attend the clinical and basic science lectures and neurology conferences as well as study independently. Reference material for each rotation will be provided. Knowledge base will be assessed by the Residency Inservice Training Examination (RITE).

Skills: The resident will develop clinical skills centering on the evaluation and treatment of patients with neurological diseases. Special attention will be placed on neurological examination skills, the management of neurology inpatients, and the management of neurological emergencies. Skills will be assessed at the end of each rotation by the appropriate attending and during the Mock Oral Examination.

Attitudes: The resident will develop skills in stress management, time management, and interpersonal relationships with staff, colleagues, and patients. Skills will be assessed at the end of each rotation by the appropriate attending. Residents will meet with their faculty advisor each quarter to review their professional development.

PGY-3 Year
Knowledge: The resident will build on the fundamental knowledge base created during the first year. Areas for improvement will be identified on the previous year's RITE and reviewed with the resident during their quarterly meeting with the Assistant Program Director. The resident will continue to attend the clinical and basic science lectures, conferences, and study independently. Second Year rotations on subspecialty services including Pediatrics, EEG/Epilepsy, and EMG/Neuromuscular will expand the resident=s knowledge base in these areas. Knowledge base will again be assessed by the RITE.

Skills: The resident will expand their skills in the evaluation and treatment of patients with neurological diseases. Special attention will be placed on patients receiving outpatient neurological evaluations and inpatient neurological consultation. In addition, subspecialty skills will be emphasized including developing pediatric neurological examination techniques and fundamental interpretation of EEG and EMG. Skills will be assessed at the end of each rotation by the appropriate attending and during the Mock Oral Examination.

Attitudes: The resident will continue to improve their stress and time management skills with special attention to the busy outpatient clinical setting. Professional development will be reviewed with their faculty advisor each quarter. In addition, the residents will work with the Assistant Program Director to develop future plans following residency including applying for fellowship positions or private practice opportunities.

PGY-4 Year
Knowledge: The resident will again build their clinical and basic neuroscience knowledge base especially centering on areas for improvement identified on the previous year's RITE. The resident will continue to attend clinical and basic science lectures, conferences, and study independently. Special attention will be placed on subspecialty training on the resident's electives including Neuropathology. Knowledge base will be assessed for the last time using the RITE.

Skills: The resident will continue to refine their skills in the diagnosis and management of patients with neurological diseases. Special attention will be placed on supervision of junior residents. The senior residents should progress toward independency in terms of their clinical skills and at the end of the year be fully prepared to evaluate and manage neurological patients without supervision. Skills will be assessed at the end of each rotation by the appropriate attending and during the Mock Oral Examination.

Attitudes: The resident will continue to develop their stress and time management skills in all clinical neurological settings. Professional development will again be reviewed with their advisors on a quarterly basis. The resident will work with the Assistant Program Director to complete the resident plans after residency including preparing for fellowships or evaluating private practice job opportunities.


Rotation Goals

Inpatient Ward Rotations
Knowledge: Gain experience in localization of findings on neurological exam. Gain experience in diagnosis and management of neurological emergencies including status epilepticus, acute stroke, increased intracranial pressure, meningitis, etc.

Skills: Develop neurological exam skills under guidance of neurology attending. Gain experience in the inpatient evaluation and management of common neurological problems. Develop skills in neurological procedures such as lumbar puncture.

Attitudes: Develop time and stress management skills. Develop good professional attitudes in dealing with patients, families, staff and colleagues.

Consult Rotations
Knowledge: Gain experience in localization of findings on neurological exam. Gain experience in diagnosis and management of neurological emergencies including status epilepticus, acute stroke, increased intracranial pressure, meningitis, etc.

Skills: Develop neurological exam skills under guidance of neurology attending. Gain experience in the inpatient evaluation and management of common neurological problems. Develop skills in neurological procedures such as lumbar puncture.

Attitudes: Develop time and stress management skills. Develop good professional attitudes in dealing with patients, families, staff and colleagues.

Pediatric Neurology Rotation (Jim Carroll, M.D.)
Knowledge: Develop clinical knowledge base of pediatric neurological diseases. Gain experience in the diagnosis and management of pediatric neurological diseases.

Skills: Develop pediatric neurological examination skills. Develop skill in neurological procedures involving children including lumbar puncture.

Attitudes: Develop good professional attitudes in dealing with pediatric neurology patients, their families, staff and colleagues.

EEG/Epilepsy Rotation (Anthony Murro, M.D.)
Knowledge: Expand basic clinical knowledge base in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of various epilepsies including the pathophysiology of epilepsy, EEG, antiepileptic neuropharmacology, and potential surgical therapies.

Skills: EEG interpretation including video intensive monitoring for diagnosis and localization of seizures.

Attitudes: Develop good professional attitudes in dealing with patients with chronic illnesses such as epilepsy. Develop good working relationships with the other members of the epilepsy service including support staff, technicians and nurses.

EMG Rotation (Michael Rivner, M.D.)
Knowledge: Expand basic clinical knowledge base in the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of various neuromuscular and peripheral nervous system disorders including a fundamental understanding of EMG. Strengthen knowledge base of the peripheral nervous system.

Skills: EMG interpretation including the needle exam.

Attitudes: Develop good professional attitudes in dealing with patients, EMG technicians, and support staff.

Neuropathology Rotation (Richard Hessler, M.D., Dept. of Pathology)
Knowledge: Expand basic knowledge of neuropathology and neuroanatomy including the neuropathological findings in various neurological disorders including brain tumors, degenerative diseases of the nervous system. CNS infections, etc. Gain experience and knowledge in the different neuropathological tests available including different staining techniques, EM, PCR, and their role in neuropathological diagnosis.

Skills: Develop skills recognizing the neuropathological characteristics of different neurological disorders under the direction of the attending.

Attitudes: Develop good professional relationships with the neuropathological support staff and technicians.

Movement Disorders (Kapil Sethi, M.D.)
Knowledge: Expand basic knowledge base of movement disorders including the characteristics of normal and abnormal movements, the diagnosis of specific movement disorders such as Parkinson's Disease, Dystonia, Myoclonus, Chorea, etc., and the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of common movement disorders including BoTox, deep brain stimulation, and pallidotomy.

Skills: Expand clinical skills in the clinical examination of movement disorders, interpretation of diagnostic tests, such as neuroimaging and EMG, and treatment procedures such as BoTox injections.

Attitudes: Develop good personal relationships with the patients, support staff, and nurses.

Psychiatry -- elective
Knowledge: Expand basic knowledge base of the diagnosis, evaluations, and treatment of different psychiatric disorders.

Skills: Develop skills in the psychiatric examination.

Attitudes: Develop good professional relationships with psychiatrists, psychiatric patients, support staff and nurses.

Neuroradiology -- elective (Ramon Figueroa-Ortiz, M.D., Dept. of Radiology)
Knowledge: Expand basic knowledge of the different neuroimaging procedures (IE, CT, MRI, Arteriography) and the neuroimaging findings of various neurological disorders.

Skills: Refine skill in the interpretation of neuroimaging.
Attitudes: Develop good professional relationships with the neuroradiologists, radiology technicians, and support staff.

NeuroRehabilation -- elective
(Pamela Salazaar, M.D. Walton Rehabilitation Hospital)
Knowledge: Expand knowledge base in the rehabilitation of neurological patients with chronic and acute illnesses including designing appropriate rehabilitation programs for individual patients.

Skills: Develop clinical examination skills in assessing response to treatment and coordinating a multidiscliplinary approach to rehabilitation.

Attitudes: Develop good professional relationships with rehabilitation physicians, patients, therapists, and support staff.

Neurosonology -- elective (Dr. Fenwick Nichols)
Knowledge: Expand clinical knowledge base in the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of patients with cerebral vascular diseases including the use of TPA in acute stroke.

Skills: Expand clinical skills in the diagnosis of stroke including neuroimaging, Carotid Doppler and Transcranial Doppler interpretation.

Attitudes: Develop good professional relationships with stroke patients, neurosonology technicians, and other support staff.
 

Conferences

* All conferences are on a weekly basis, except those specified.

Rotation and Scholarly Activity Requirements

During the 36 required months of the Neurology Residency the resident shall
have:

• a minimum of 12 months of inpatient ward and/or inpatient consult experience

• a minimum of 6 months of outpatient neurology

• a minimum of 3 months EMG/ Neuromuscular experience

• a minimum of 3 months Pediatric Neurology experience

• a minimum of 2 months of Neuropathology

• a minimum of 3 months EEG/ Epilepsy experience

Residents will be involved in scholarly activity such as independent research or in depth review of a neurologic topic of special interest to the resident. This scholarly activity will be presented to the department at a Grand Rounds conference.
 

Questions and Comments to Bill Hamilton 

  February 02, 2004

School of Medicine  |  Medical College of Georgia