Mayo Clinic's neurological clinical material is rich and varied, offering you the opportunity to see both common and unusual neurological and neurosurgical problems.

Clinical training

The clinical component of the Vascular Neurology Fellowship involves evaluating and managing patients with all forms of cerebrovascular disorders, performing and interpreting noninvasive cerebrovascular studies, and participating in clinical treatment trials.

Your clinical training includes rotations in the outpatient cerebrovascular clinic in the Department of Neurology and on the inpatient stroke and cerebrovascular disease Comprehensive Stroke Center accredited hospital service. The inpatient experience includes the opportunity to care for patients with cerebrovascular diseases in the Neurology/Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit, including those with acute ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and intracerebral hemorrhage.

Because Mayo is the primary cerebrovascular disease and stroke care provider for a large geographical area, the hospital practice includes local patients with common and uncommon cerebrovascular disorders. In addition, as a tertiary referral center, Mayo sees national and international patients who are referred for all types of cerebrovascular disorders.

In the outpatient cerebrovascular clinic rotation, you have the opportunity to evaluate patients new to Mayo Clinic who are referred directly to the Department of Neurology, and also consultations referred from other Mayo health care providers. Patients seen in the clinic present with a wide range of cerebrovascular disorders.

Common diagnoses include asymptomatic carotid occlusive disease, transient ischemic attack, cerebral infarction of all types and mechanisms, cryptogenic stroke, intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial and extracranial arterial disorders of all types, intracranial aneurysms and vascular malformations, vasculitis, arterial dissection, genetic causes of stroke (such as CADASIL), and a variety of other cerebrovascular disorders.

Mayo Clinic has an active telestroke practice. You have the opportunity to evaluate patients remotely, participating in the telestroke program.

Didactic training

Your training includes cerebrovascular conferences and other clinical conferences in the Department of Neurology, including:

• Weekly Neurology Grand Rounds
• Bimonthly hospital-based case conference
• Weekly rotating subspecialty conference
• Monthly cerebrovascular therapeutics conference
• Peer review clinical cerebrovascular conference
• Monthly journal club
• Numerous cerebrovascular didactic presentations

Research training

We anticipate that during the one-year fellowship, you will organize and complete at least one clinical research project and have at least one first-author publication. Participation in a research project will be dependent on your professional interests and capabilities. Travel support is provided allowing presentations at national neuroscience meetings. You will have the opportunity to work with mentors in vascular neurology, vascular neurosurgery, vascular neuroradiology, and other areas, depending on the topic and nature of the research project(s).

There is a formal clinical and patient-oriented research training program in Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. You may take courses of your choosing within this program to enhance your skills in all aspects of clinical research. The Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) is also a resource.

Education opportunities

You will have opportunities to provide education to third-year medical students and residents during the Stroke Service rotations. You will also provide presentations and discussions in clinical conferences and journal clubs.