Our Residents

A Letter from the Residents

Greetings from Rochester, NY!

We are thrilled that you are considering applying to the neurology residency program at the University of Rochester. As chief residents, we have experienced the program's diverse strengths, and we would like to share with you our enthusiasm for the program, with the hope that you will find it as exciting and rewarding as we have.

We cannot overstate the benefits of our program’s emphasis on resident education. No matter what year of training you are in or what rotation you are on, your continued education is of the utmost priority, and as such, our services are structured to include dedicated teaching times. These opportunities occur both in conferences taught by a wide-ranging group of clinical and research faculty and in bedside teaching rounds with attending physicians and a cadre of distinguished professors. As residents, we are also given several unique opportunities to hone our own teaching skills by participating as teaching assistants and small group leaders in the medical school neuroscience course, and by serving as teaching faculty during the annual trip to Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. This emphasis on teaching is tirelessly championed by Dr. Jozefowicz, who is widely recognized as a national leader in neurology education.

Of course, this educational emphasis depends on excellent faculty support. We work alongside experts in all the major subspecialties, including neuromuscular, neuro-oncology, neuroimmunology, vascular neurology, movement disorders, cognitive & degenerative disorders, epilepsy, neuro-ophthomology, and child neurology. Many of the faculty are of national and international renown, and yet retain an approachability that fosters mentorship and collegiality. Working alongside such distinguished professors in both the inpatient and outpatient setting is an opportunity to learn, to role model, and to build relationships that allow residents to further a variety of academic and professional interests.

But beyond the teaching emphasis, the excellent professors, and the diverse clinical and research opportunities, we believe you will find, as we have, that the most attractive aspect of our program is its residents. This is not as much about the high academic quality of our residents, or their varied research accomplishments, but the camaraderie that binds us together. We are a tight knit group, supportive, encouraging, habitually looking after each other’s well-being, whether it be covering a call shift, helping with a procedure, or pitching in on a busy consult day. We bond at work, but also at play, and even beyond the seasonal parties or departmental events, we can often be found congregating after work for a happy hour, organizing a wine tour, or visiting one of the many local seasonal fairs. We are a group with diverse interests, and it’s not unusual to find groups of residents at local musical festivals, playing on local recreational sports teams, or enjoying the wide variety of outdoor pursuits that western New York offers. We cannot hide the fact that you will work hard in this residency, but we are delighted to tell you that you will work with colleagues who will be there for you every step of the way.

So as you contemplate that very first step in your residency training, we again encourage you to apply to the program here at the University of Rochester. We look forward to the opportunity to show you around our city and our program and to demonstrate the many virtues and advantages of both. We are confident you will be pleased with what you find.

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Sincerely,