Child and Adolescent Neurology Residency (Minnesota)

Curriculum

Clinical training

The Child and Adolescent Neurology Residency rotation schedule is structured so that your responsibilities in teaching and patient care increase as you gain greater experience.

Rotation schedule

A typical schedule includes: 

Rotation descriptions

Child and adolescent neurology inpatient services

During hospital rotations, you provide neurological consultations for the general pediatric and adolescent medicine service, the pediatric medical subspecialties, emergency room and pediatric surgical subspecialties, such as otorhinolaryngology, urology, ophthalmology, cardiovascular surgery and orthopedics. You experience a wide variety of acute and subacute neurological diseases, from common to unusual pediatric neurological problems.

You also spend a portion of this time on the pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit and gain experience with inpatient video-EEG monitoring in children.

Child and adolescent neurology outpatient services

The child and adolescent neurology outpatient clinic serves both primary and consultative patients from other pediatric services. Under the supervision of an attending child neurologist, you have the opportunity to see and manage a broad spectrum of pediatric neurological problems and have access to all diagnostic capabilities except complex invasive procedures.

Starting in the PGY-3 year, you hold a weekly continuity clinic, where you consult and follow patients, acting as the primary neurologist. During the last year of training, you complete a one-month senior rotation, where you serve as the primary neurologist to several new patients each day. You also have the opportunity to participate in outreach clinics in child neurology.

Adult neurology inpatient services

During your inpatient assignments, you learn to evaluate and treat neurological emergencies in the emergency department at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus. You also evaluate neurological disorders in the inpatient setting, including the intensive care unit. You participate in teaching rounds each day in the hospital. Child and Adolescent Neurology residents spend no more than six months on the inpatient adult neurology service.

Adult neurology outpatient services

While on outpatient rotations, you evaluate patients with common and unusual neurological conditions. You participate in daily case discussions and have outpatient education opportunities on special outpatient teaching services.

Core clinical neurophysiology

You spend at least two months in a clinical neurophysiology rotation. This assignment includes didactic instruction and practical experience in the basics of:

• Autonomic function testing
• Electroencephalography (EEG)
• Electromyography (EMG)
• Electronystagmography
• Evoked potentials
• Nerve conduction studies (NCS)
• Polysomnography

After completing this rotation, you can spend elective time in EEG, EMG or sleep medicine.

Neuropathology

You spend two months training in neuropathology during the PGY-4 year. This rotation provides direct experience with autopsy material under the direction of a full-time neuropathologist. Your training also includes case reviews, brain cutting and the study of microscopic materials.

Electives

Electives provide an opportunity to customize your education to your specific interests. In addition to further training in child and adolescent neurology, your elective options include the following related clinical and laboratory specialty areas:

• Behavioral neurology
• Cerebrovascular disease
• Child development
• Clinical epilepsy
• Clinical neurophysiology
  • EEG
  • EMG
• Genetics
• Movement disorders
• Neuroimmunology
• Neuro-ophthalmology
• Neuro-otology
• Neurosurgery
• Oncology
• Pain clinic
• Palliative care
• Physical medicine
• Psychiatry
• Research
• Sleep disorders
• Speech pathology

Call frequency

The call schedule is different for each rotation. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science follows the recommendations of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Research training

You are encouraged to complete one or more research projects in clinical, laboratory or basic investigation during your training.

Areas of focus can include:

• Cerebrovascular disease
• Electroencephalography
• Electromyography
• Epilepsy
• Neurogenetics
• Metabolics
• Muscle disease
• Neurochemistry and neuropharmacology
• Neuroepidemiology
• Neuroimmunology
• Neuromuscular junction diseases
• Neuro-oncology
• Neuropharmacology
• Neurosurgery
• Neurovirology
• Peripheral nerve disease
• Psychopharmacology
• Sleep medicine

Short-term research projects

Short-term research projects require a two- to six-month commitment and do not take time away from your residency responsibilities. You have ample opportunity to pursue projects such as patient-generated case reports and chart reviews.

Long-term research projects

Long-term research projects (typically longer than six months) require time away from your residency responsibilities. You can apply for a long-term project anytime during your residency with permission from the Neurology Research Committee and staff research mentor.

One-year research positions

Each year Mayo Clinic offers three one-year, funded research positions for those who wish to extend their residency training. Under this option, you learn the procedures used to identify important research questions, formulate hypotheses and critically test them.

You work with an experienced investigator, using appropriate research and statistical methods, in one of the research laboratories. Similar opportunities are available in the neurology department's clinical laboratories. With the support of a faculty member in your PGY-5 year, you can apply for a formal, one-year research position.

Ph.D. Program

Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences offers a Ph.D. Program with several specialization tracks. Though these Ph.D. Program tracks emphasize research, they also include a core curriculum for a strong foundation in the basic sciences and neuroscience. You do not need to declare an interest in this option when you first apply to Mayo Clinic's Child and Adolescent Neurology Residency.

Clinician-Investigator Training Program

Those candidates applying for the Child and Adolescent Neurology Residency who have a particular interest in research may wish to inquire about Mayo Clinic's Clinician-Investigator Training Program. More details about this program can be forwarded to you upon request.

Didactic training

Clinical conferences, seminars, small discussion groups, journal clubs and one-on-one instruction are all an integral part of the Child and Adolescent Neurology Residency. Although most of the program's didactic training is shared with the Adult Neurology Residency, special emphasis is given to child and adolescent neurology rounds and weekly child neurology conferences.

Throughout the residency, you participate in teaching conferences. Weekly clinical neurology hospital conferences are held at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Saint Marys Campus. Clinico-pathologic conferences are held several times a year. Seminars and lectures are presented throughout the year on the principles of neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, neuroimmunology and diseases related to these disciplines. Additional subspecialty conferences are presented regularly by all divisions of the neurology department.

Formal didactic courses are required during your training. These include basic neurology, neuroanatomy and neuroradiology courses during your PGY-3 and PGY-4 years.

Evaluation

To ensure that you acquire adequate knowledge and develop the appropriate technical skills to meet program expectations, your performance is monitored carefully during the residency. You are formally evaluated by supervising faculty members on a regular basis and meet with the program director to review these evaluations. In addition, you regularly evaluate the faculty to confirm that your educational goals are being met.