Clinical training

As a fellow, you will see patients in the Behavioral Neurology Clinic on a regular basis. You will attend neuropathology sessions under the supervision of Dennis Dickson, M.D., twice per week. The program, is flexible to allow you to train in speech pathology, neuroimaging, and psychiatry.

You will see patients with a variety of symptoms in the setting of common and uncommon neurobehavioral disorders.

You will develop proficiency in the following areas:

• Administer a mental status examination and interpreting the results.
• Expand evaluations in areas such as attention/concentration, language, praxis, visuospatial functioning, and reasoning/problem solving.
• Discuss the indications for and interpretation of neuropsychological testing.
• Relate neurobehavioral deficits to anatomical areas.
• Discuss the diagnostic approach to evaluating patients with acute encephalopathy/delirium, subacute encephalopathy, chronic progressive encephalopathy/dementia, and distinct neurobehavioral syndromes (e.g., transient global amnesia, limbic encephalitis).
• Discuss the epidemiology, genetics, molecular biology/pathophysiology, clinical features, radiologic features, and pathologic hallmarks of the degenerative and prion dementias.

You will also develop proficiency in evaluating and managing patients with a variety of conditions such as:

• Degenerative Disorders/Dementia - Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
  • Alzheimer's Disease (AD)
  • Parkinson's Disease with Dementia (PD+Dem)
  • Lewy Body Dementia/Lewy Body Disease /Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)
  • Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)/Pick's Disease
  • Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)
  • Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD)
  • Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)
  • Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA)/Progressive Cortical Visual Dysfunction Syndrome (PCVDS)
  • Huntington's Disease (HD)
• Vascular Dementia - Dementia with cerebrovascular disease (DCVD)/Vascular Dementia (VaD)
  • Binswanger's Disease
  • Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL)
• Prion Disorders - Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
  • Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome (GSS)
• Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Autoimmune/Inflammatory Encephalopathies
  • Encephalopathy associated with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis ("Hashimoto's Encephalopathy")
  • Sjogren's Associated Encephalopathy
  • Nonvasculitic Autoimmune Inflammatory Meningoencephalopathy (NAIM)
• Cognitive Impairment/Behavioral Changes associated with brain tumors, infarcts, Meningitis/Encephalitis, and sleep disorders

Didactic training

Didactic training is an integral part of Mayo Clinic's Behavioral Neurology Fellowship Program. You will participate in:

• Neurology Grand Rounds (each Monday)
• Inpatient Neurology/Neurosurgery Grand Rounds (each Wednesday)
• Subspecialty Conference (Behavioral Neurology presents every sixth week)
• Behavioral Neurology Course: A superb multidisciplinary Behavioral Neurology Course takes place one afternoon per week from November to March every other year. All lectures are captured on video, which can be viewed at any time throughout the training program.

Research training

The Neurology staff participates in research programs, most of which are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). You will see many research patients with unique and often complex neurobehavioral disorders, as well as those who are "aging successfully."

You will be encouraged to participate in clinical trials, protocol development, grant writing and other research-related activities. Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville has a large and internationally known neuroscience faculty and you will have the opportunity to work with them on different projects. Numerous presentations at national and international conferences have been developed from this exposure, and all previous fellows have been successful in publishing manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, as well as abstracts and book chapters.

Teaching opportunities

You will have the opportunity to participate in the Neurology Residency core lectures and Behavioral Neurology Conference, as well as provide instruction to medical students and residents rotating in behavioral neurology. Our fellows have developed several teaching files and educational presentations, which are available to all trainees.

Evaluation

To ensure you gain proficiency and develop the corresponding technical skills, your performance is monitored throughout this program. You are formally evaluated by your supervising faculty member following the completion of each clinical rotation; and then meet with the program director to review these evaluations. In addition, you regularly evaluate the faculty to ensure your educational goals are being met.

Career development

You will meet periodically with your faculty adviser and the training program director to discuss individual goals. Mayo Clinic recruits many of its staff physicians from its own training programs. Thus, after completion of the Behavioral Neurology Fellowship, career opportunities may be available at one of Mayo Clinic's practice sites.

Off-site rotations

You may elect to rotate to Mayo Clinic in Rochester or Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale during this fellowship. At either location you can participate in clinical research studies and interact with the basic researchers in many areas including neuropathology, neurogenetics, amyloid metabolism, and neurotransmitters.

Mayo Clinic funds the authorized additional costs of travel, housing, automobile rental, and licensure fees.