Neurology Residency Program

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Creating a Learning Environment

Within the residency, we devised novel ways to manage our busy patient load that optimize the balance between clinical work and learning. Our residents rotate every 5 weeks between the hospital wards and ambulatory clinic to balance their inpatient and outpatient experiences. The residents have rotations dedicated to high-quality patient care experiences:  Stroke service, Neuro-interventional unit, General Ward service, Neuro Admitting Resident (NAR) and Consult Service. In addition, we offer ample elective time to pursue research and academic interests both inside and outside of neurology. Our faculty are dedicated to protected learning time daily in our noon lecture series. 

We also have a comprehensive didactic program. We teach neurology in a "top-down" core curriculum. Clinical and basic science content, along with pathology and neuroradiology, relevant clinical neurophysiology are taught in month-long units at daily noon conferences. We begin with the cortex and end with the peripheral nervous system. Each unit is followed by a Jeopardy to encourage study and reinforce material.

Our People are Our Strength

Perhaps our greatest strength is our rich and diverse patient population. Drawing from 17 counties that stretch from Pennsylvania to Canada, we are the tertiary care center for much of upstate New York. Thus, we see patients with the full range of neurologic problems, both commonplace and rare. Another major strength of our program is its warm, friendly, and supportive atmosphere. Residents have commented to me that, although we are a busy program, the stress of this is greatly mitigated by strong bonds between residents and between faculty and residents.

I cannot describe our program strengths without shining the light on our wonderful residents. Hard-working, dedicated, intelligent, motivated and fun, they come from all over the US and the world and dive into clinical neurology with vigor and excitement. They emerge three years later as excellent clinical neurologists. They are an inspiration to me.

Pleasant, Well-equipped Facilities

Another major asset of our program is new East Wing of University Hospital where our Neuro-ICU, Neuro Step-down and Neurology floor beds are all situated on the 9th floor. Our resident call room is located on the 9th floor. The residents also have a lounge area located on the 7th floor of the West Wing of University hospital equipped with a full-sized refrigerator, microwave, lockers, couches and 9 workstations. We also offer resident workspaces in the University Health-Care Center and VA (in the form of group work-rooms and cubicles). Well-equipped and spacious, they create a pleasant working environment.

Excellent Fellowships

Our graduates obtain excellent fellowships in the sub-specialty of their choice. Some recent graduates and current residents have secured fellowships as follows:

• Clinical Neurophysiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Clinical Neurophysiology at Brown University
• Clinical Neurophysiology at Barrow Neurologic Institute
• Endovascular at University of Pittsburgh
• Endovascular at University of South Florida, Tampa FL
• Epilepsy at University of Pittsburgh (2 recent graduates)
• Neuromuscular Medicine at Duke University
• Neuromuscular Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN
• Neuro ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital
• Neuro ICU at University of Texas, Southwestern
• Neuro ICU at University of New Mexico
• Vascular Neurology at Yale-New Haven Hospital
• Vascular Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL
• Vascular Neurology at Cleveland Clinic
• Vascular Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital

Excellent Clinical Training

I hear from our graduates fairly often. A common observation is that they found themselves better trained than peers trained at some of the country's most prestigious institutions. They feel comfortable and self-confident as neurologists and they feel well-prepared for the challenges, both of private practice and of academic neurology.

In summary, SUNY Upstate Neurology offers you a collegial atmosphere, replete with fascinating cases of all types, an excellent curriculum and a very bright future in Neurology. Thank you for your interest and best of luck, wherever life takes you.