Fourth Year of the Neurology Residency Program (PGY-4)

Chief Resident Rotation

• All PGY-4 residents function as chief residents, sharing clinical, administrative and teaching responsibilities.  Responsibilities include:
  • Supervision of first-year neurology residents on the Strong Memorial Hospital inpatient service
  • Supervision of sign-in rounds and sign-out rounds daily, during which the clinical care of the patients on the neurology service is reviewed
  • Monitoring hospital admissions and discharges
  • Conducting teaching rounds and conferences
  • Arranging Neurology Grand Rounds
  • Maintaining an overall high quality of neurological care provided by residents on all of the neurology services

Advanced Neurophysiology (EEG)

• The Advanced Neurophysiology (EEG) rotation is devoted to the study of epilepsy and EEG.
• The resident develops skills in interpreting EEGs and long-term EEG monitoring videos of patients with intractable epilepsy
• Didactic lectures in neurophysiology round out the learning experience for the resident.

EMG/Neuromuscular Rotation

• The EMG / Neuromuscular rotation is devoted to the study of electromyography and disorders of nerve and muscle.
• The resident learns how to use nerve conduction studies and electromyography to precisely localize lesions of the motor unit and determine the pathophysiology of these lesions
• Residents also attend weekly neuromuscular clinics during this rotation
• Didactic rounds and lectures in neurophysiology and nerve and muscle pathology round out the learning experience for the resident.

Mind, Brain and Behavior Medical Student Course

• The Mind, Brain and Behavior course is a ten-week introduction to neural sciences, neuropathology, neuropharmacology, psychopathology, and neuromuscular diseases.
• Fourth-year residents participate as faculty for this course, attending all lectures and all neuroanatomy and neuropathology laboratories, and leading a problem-based learning group
• This experience provides the resident with an opportunity to re-learn the basic sciences underpinning neurology, and also to learn the theory and practice of teaching.

Psychiatry Rotation

• Neurology residents on this service learn the fundamentals of psychiatry most beneficial for the practice of neurology.  This rotation is directed by a board-certified psychiatrist. Each neurology residents spends 4 weeks on the SMH Inpatient Psychiatry Consult Liaison Service.
• The goals of this rotation are to:
  • Develop skills in the assessment of psychiatric problems in a medical setting
  • Master the understanding of the interaction of medical and neurological conditions with psychiatric disorders
  • Begin to develop the skills of a specialty consultant.

Electives

The fourth-year neurology resident has twelve weeks of additional elective time in the PGY-4 year.  Please see the description above for a listing of available electives