Program Overview

The Neurology Residency at Johns Hopkins is a three year program based at the major teaching Hospitals of the School of Medicine including The Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and Sinai Hospital. The major goal of the program is to prepare neurologists for a career in academic medicine, beginning with the acquisition of excellent clinical skills. A rich and diversified clinical experience is assured by exposure to several distinct inpatient services, consultative services, and outpatient settings at the three teaching hospitals.

The Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins is distinguished by its collegial and investigative atmosphere. Formal teaching takes place in daily didactic sessions by faculty and weekly Chairman's Rounds, in addition to Grand Rounds and numerous subspecialty conferences. The residents also have their own daily teaching sessions where they present cases to each other in Morning Report. To augment the clinical experience, residents are exposed to numerous subspecialty rotations such as neuromuscular disease, sleep, neuroradiology, neurocritical care, epilepsy, psychiatry, and neuropathology. Furthermore, some residents may choose to individualize their training by utilizing their elective time to pursue clinical and laboratory research in the Department of Neurology as well as in the basic science departments of the School of Medicine.

The First Year (PGY-2)
The aim of the first year is to give residents a comprehensive exposure to clinical neurology including inpatient and outpatient diagnosis and management. The year consists of several inpatient rotations including the Meyer Adult Neurology Service, the Neurosciences Critical Care Unit at Hopkins, the Adult Neurology Service at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and the Pediatric Neurology Consultation Service at Hopkins. Additionally, several months are spent on the Neurology Consultation Service at The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center which diversifies the first year experience and helps residents build confidence in neurologic examination skills, differential diagnosis, and patient care.

The Second Year (PGY-3)
The second year presents the opportunity for residents to apply knowledge acquired from the first year in positions of greater responsibility. This is accomplished by assuming a leadership role on both the Neurology Consultation Service and the Meyer Adult Inpatient Neurology Services. The Meyer Inpatient Services at Johns Hopkins consist of two teams, the General Neurology Service and the Stroke Service. Each team is comprised of one second year neurology resident, one internal medicine resident or first year neurology resident, medical students, and an attending physician. The second year neurology resident leads this team in caring for a variety of patients admitted from the emergency room, the outpatient clinic, transferred from the Neurological Critical Care Unit or other hospitals. The Consultation Service, which includes two second year neurology residents, one first year neurology resident, students or rotating residents from other services, and an attending physcian, provides an opportunity for resident to participate in complex diagnostic and decision making situations that arise on the many diverse medical, emergency, intensive care and surgical services at the Hospital.

During the second year, one month is spent participating in the Outpatient Pediatric Neurology Clinics. This is an exciting opportunity to evaluate patients with diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, epilepsy, developmental disorders, Tourette Syndrome and many other pediatric disorders. The balance of the second year is spent on various subspecialty rotations or electives. Required subspecialty rotations include neuromuscular/EMG, epileptology/EEG, sleep, and neuropathology which can be completed over the course of the second and third years. One month of psychiatry is completed during the second year.

The Third Year (PGY-4)
Third year residents function primarily in a leadership role on the inpatient service at The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The Bayview inpatient service is a busy, primary care neurology service with a small number of beds devoted to neurologic intensive care. This mix gives the resident numerous diagnostic and management challenges in a position of greater responsibility and helps reinforce and solidify the basic elements essential for the successful practice of clinical neurology. The resident acts as a "junior attending" during these months, under the direct supervision of an outstanding teaching attending.

The remaining months of the residency are divided among consultation services at Sinai, subspecialty requirements, and elective clinical or research rotations. Electives include neuro-ophthalmology, neuro-AIDS, neuroradiology, neurocritical care, neuro-oncology, cognitive neurology, and movement disorders.

Research Opportunities
An important part of the program is exposure to and participation in clinical or basic neuroscience research. All residents are encouraged to become involved in a project during their training. Senior residents present their research at a special Grand Rounds. Research seminars are held on a regular basis under the auspices of the Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neuroscience.

Conferences
All residents are encouraged to attend conferences that have been designed to keep them informed of major developments in both basic and clinical neuroscience. A wide variety of conferences, lectures, courses, and seminars are available through the Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. Ward attending rounds are held with didactic sessions three times weekly. Noontime conferences on clinical and research topics are held daily throughout the year. These conferences include regular discussions of movement disorders, cerebrovascular disease, seizures, neuromuscular disorders, neuropathology (clinical-pathology conference) and neuroradiology. A weekly research seminar reviews ongoing projects within the department and the institution.