Letter from the Program Director - MED - Neurology Department, University of Minnesota

This is a great time to become a neurologist. I trust that the “can’t do anything for the patients” sentiment is long since dead and buried. The last nail in that particular coffin was driven by neuro-interventionists; the University of Minnesota is unique in having three neurologist-interventionists and an ESN (neuro-intervention) fellowship within the Department of Neurology. Bench research makes its way to the bedside as never before; the Alzheimer mouse was developed at the University of Minnesota and clinical trials aimed at reversing this illness are on the horizon at our Memory Clinic. My teachers told me what my patients had after an H&P; I do the same now with students and residents—and wait to be proved right or wrong by imaging, neurophysiologic and genetic tests, some undreamt of even a decade ago.

This is also a great time to train at the University of Minnesota. In July, 2010, we will complete an expansion of our program to 6 residents per year. We recently added a stroke/neurocritical care rotation at Hennepin County Medical Center, in which residents work with fellows and faculty trained in those areas. We made this M-F with no call. Last year, a new G2 outpatient rotation, consisting entirely of subspecialty clinics across three hospitals, was inaugurated. An OSCE, aimed at both evaluation and teaching, replaced our mock oral exam. Journal Club was revised and re-invigorated. This year, for the first time, we were able to cover our two busiest hospitals using night-float residents. We enhanced and expanded the EEG rotation by combining reading sessions with an epilepsy monitoring unit experience. Dr. David Walk became our Associate Program Director. A major revision of our didactic program is due to launch this fall.

I have done a variety of things in neurology, but have found the residency program directorship to be the most gratifying of them, above all because of the able, interesting and fun group of residents I work with, and the remarkable degree of support I receive from my chairman and the department generally. I welcome your interest in our program.