University of Virginia Health System

Adult Neurology Residency Training Program

Program Overview

Department History

Neurology was first taught at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1906 by John Staige Davis of the Medicine Department. Hugh Page Newbill was teaching neurology here when he pioneered the development of electroencephalography in the early 1940s. After shifts in departmental affiliations, as was common for U.S. neurology departments in the early/mid-1900s, the Neurology Services were formally established as a separate department in 1967 by T. R. Johns, ten years after he had developed the accredited neurologic training program. Since that time, the department has pioneered the following neurologic advances:

• The use of 24 hour continuous video and EEG monitoring to diagnose and treat epilepsy and other paroxysmal neurologic symptoms 
• Acute interventions in the treatment of stroke
• The use of corticosteroids in the treatment of myasthenia gravis
• Classification of the epilepsies
• Encyclopedic characterization of the pathologic diagnoses of primary brain tumors
• The development of Fink-Heimer stain for visualizing degenerating neurons
• Determining the role of adenosine in the control of cerebral blood flow
• Delineation of fundamental mechanisms of epileptogenesis
• Determining the role of mitochondrial genes in the production of human disease

The department is continuing its commitment to the advancement of the clinical and basic neurosciences through its patient care, research, and training of other neurologists and neuroscientists who can carry on this work.

Residency Outline and Objectives

The residency program provides thorough training in clinical neurology and its scientific basis for physicians choosing careers in either academic medicine or clinical practice. The program fulfills eligibility requirements for examination by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and meets the program requirements for residency education in neurology of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The program admits five new adult neurology residents each year.

The training program is designed to ensure that residents gain familiarity with virtually all of the more common disorders seen in neurology, as well as with many of those less frequently encountered. Residents manage in- and outpatients; adult, pediatric, psychiatric, and ICU patients; and those with neurologic complications of medical and surgical conditions.

Levels of supervision allow increasing responsibility for patient care from junior to senior residents, with ultimate responsibility being held by attending physicians who are available 24 hours a day to all residents under their supervision. Second- and third-year residents assume responsibility in a senior position on the Adult Neurologic Inpatient Services, Neurologic Outpatient Unit, and Adult and Pediatric Neurologic Consultation Services.

Residents receive training in the major diagnostic techniques used to evaluate patients with disease of the nervous system, and they have the opportunity to participate in basic and clinical research. They attend weekly departmental and institutional conferences in the clinical and basic sciences, and gain experience in teaching both medical students and other housestaff, from whom they also learn. These objectives are achieved via a well-balanced residency program of required rotations and didactic conferences, and electives for personal career development.

 

Selected Program Features

	•	Daily noon conference (Neurology Residency Conference Schedule)
	•	Daily attending teaching rounds at bedside
	•	Dedicated twice weekly neuroradiology rounds
	•	Weekly Chairman's rounds
	•	On call always with an intern, senior resident back-up, and attending availability
	•	Satellite reference libraries on ICU, inpatient, and outpatient units
	•	Extensive and up-to-date neurology library in department
	•	An innovative core-competencies curriculum (see Conference Schedule, see Electives)
	•	Computer access to internet on patient floors, ICU, and outpatient units
	•	Private on-call room with computer, internet access, telephone, television
	•	Stroke unit and comprehensive program
	•	Separate neuroscience ICU with specially trained, full-time attending staff and state-of-the-art computerized health care systems
	•	Epilepsy unit and comprehensive program with epilepsy surgery and multidisciplinary treatments
	•	Outpatient unit attending always available for patient staffing
	•	Residents' outpatient practices maintained throughout the residency
	•	Acute neurologic care curriculum series each July and August
	•	Generous elective time
	•	Numerous and diverse research protocols
	•	Collegial environment and supportive faculty
	•	Charlottesville rated #1 place to live in USA

Benefits

	•	Full medical and dental plans for resident, spouse, and dependents
	•	Personal allowance of $750 each year for each resident for the PGY-2, PGY-3 and PGY-4 residents (e.g. for books, computer equipment, or whatever else the resident sees fit for educational purposes)
	•	Paid membership to the American Academy of Neurology, which includes a subscription to Neurology (the "Green Journal")
	•	Paid registration, hotel, travel, per diem to attend the American Academy of Neurology convention in the residents' PGY-4 year
	•	On-line access to hundreds of medical journals
	•	Generous meal allowance for each on-call period to be used in hospital cafeteria, open 24-hours daily
	•	Annual resident weekend retreat for all neurology residents and their families at Wintergreen Resort
	•	Annual Department events (winter Holiday party, Welcoming Picnic for new Housestaff hosted by Chairman, "Chair Party" to send off graduating housestaff)
	•	Four weeks of paid vacation each year, one week of which includes either the Christmas or New Year's Holiday.
	•	Competitive salary based on PGY year
	•	Free, convenient parking

Resident Evaluation and Feedback

After satisfactory completion of each year, residents are advanced to the next year of the three-year program. Individual requests for alterations to the planned program must be approved by the Department Chairman and the Director of the Training Program.

Residents are evaluated monthly by the attending physicians with whom they have been working. All resident evaluations by attendings are available online and available only to the resident evaluated. In this way, areas that require attention are identified promptly and addressed, while positive feedback provides encouragement. The program director meets four times per year with PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents, three times a year with PGY-3 residents, and twice a year with PGY-4 residents. The director meets with the residents in other settings much more frequently. The department chair and an assigned advisor also routinely meet with residents. Periodic evaluation reviews and informal discussions with the program director and residents' individual faculty advisers provide residents with valuable feedback about their performance and career goals, and also provide an avenue to express their perceptions of the program and attending physicians. The program director welcomes and values residents' input about their training. Residents evaluate faculty on a regular basis as well.