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Education

Residency Program Director's Welcome

Welcome to the Neurology Residency Training Program at The University of Chicago. Residents will find our three year training program challenging, rewarding, and, at times, demanding. Our overall goal for the training program is to produce competent clinical neurologists who will be able to apply their medical knowledge to patient care - whether they opt to work in academia or in the realm of private practice. Throughout the training residents will have hands-on contact with patients and continuously be called upon to develop differential diagnoses and management decisions.

During the PGY2 year the majority of the time will be spent on the in-patient ward service; residents will see disparate cases and examine hundreds of patients. There will be a senior resident (PGY3 or PGY4) taking in-house ("buddy") calls with the PGY2 during the first three months. The Continuity Clinic will begin early in the first year and will continue throughout the program. The clinic will meet one half day weekly, with a supervising attending. Residents will also rotate on the inpatient pediatric neurology service, in the neuro-ICU, on inpatient consults at The UofC and Evanston Hospital, and spend two weeks in either neuroradiology or on elective.

During the PGY3 year residents pursue the EEG and EMG rotations, lead the Consult service, participate in sub-specialty outpatient clinics at North Shore, and complete the Neuro-ICU rotation. PGY3s have six weeks of elective time. During the EMG rotation residents work in the Neuromuscular Clinic with Betty Soliven MD and Raymond Roos MD. During the EEG rotation residents will participate in the Epilepsy clinic. These subspecialty clinics are in addition to the Continuity Clinic. The inpatient and outpatient experiences will include interaction with faculty, peers, ancillary and support staff, patients and their families. During the PGY3 year the knowledge gathered during the previous year will begin to crystallize into a coherent picture.

During the last year (PGY4), residents function as Senior Resident on the floors, manage the Outpatient Clinic (OPC) urgent/semi-urgent clinic, rotate on the psychiatry Consult-Liaison service, and pursue the Neuropathology rotation, electives and selectives at North Shore. During the OPC rotation residents see urgent patients as well as participate in various subspecialty clinics (Memory Disorders, Movement Disorders, NeuroOncology, MS, ataxia, etc).

Daily didactic lectures (lunch provided 2x/week!) will sharpen your focus on the various disorders that residents have been exposed to and will further the understanding of the basic neurosciences.

Throughout the PGY3 and PGY4 years of training residents notice an increase in the amount of time available in which to read and deepen your knowledge in neurology. Residents have supplementary time during these last two years to pursue special interests. Residents will see their confidence level strengthen through these training years as they assume an ever-increasing responsibility for both patient management and the supervision of junior residents and medical students.

Finally, residents will master the art and science of the neurological history and physical examination. This is of paramount importance, even with the powerful diagnostic tools available today. Without an excellent history and physical, it is impossible to determine which diagnostic tool to use.

Welcome to our program!

Kenneth Lee, MD
Program Director

Elisheva Coleman MD
Daniel Kurz MD
Associate Program Directors

 

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