University at Buffalo (UB)
In your final year, you will prepare to enter independent practice. You will share your broad-based knowledge with others and diagnose and manage complex neurological problems, with guidance from our expert neurologists.
Culminating your adult neurology training, you will independently care for patients, assuming primary responsibility for formulating differential diagnoses and patient evaluation plans before presenting cases to the attending neurologist.
During a focused hospital rotation in psychiatry, you will be exposed to psychopathology and psychiatric assessments.
You also will have ample opportunity to explore your interests, including potential fellowship areas, through our diverse, career-focused elective options and specialty clinics.
You will continue building long-term patient relationships in continuity clinics one half-day per week.
In addition, you will prepare for certification by completing all clinical skills examinations — encompassing critical care, neuromuscular, ambulatory, neurodegenerative and child neurology — and taking your final Resident In-Service Training Examination. You also will finalize your research project and prepare to present — and possibly publish — your findings.
| Rotation | Length of Rotation |
|---|---|
| Adult Neurology | 5 modules |
| Neurology Specialty Clinics | 1 module |
| Electives | 6 modules |
| Psychiatry | 1 module |
1 module = 4 weeks
Again this year, you will take an active role in our robust didactic training, increasingly sharing your growing expertise with others.
You will further build your knowledge base through our relevant lecture series.
Informally and formally, you will share your increased familiarity of the current neurological literature as well as evidence-based practices, largely through conferences and rounds.
In addition, you will continue to present information on neurological emergencies (for second-year neurology residents) as well as neurological topics (for medical trainees in other departments, such as psychiatry).
During each module, you will enhance your knowledge of a particular area of neurology or basic neuroscience by participating in our diverse lecture training.
Topics include: neuropathology, clinical neurophysiology (including applications to nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography), neuropsychology, neural development, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, molecular biology, genetics, immunology, epidemiology, neuroanatomy (cranial nerves, cerebellum, brainstem circuits), EEG, neuroimaging, psychiatry, physiology of vision, language and aphasia, auditory system, cancer of the nervous system, treatment of movement disorders, statistics, ethics, and MRI/CT physics (during EMG/EEG rotations).
An annual lecture series focuses on quality improvement issues.
You also will finalize your research project and present your results at the neurology department’s annual Dr. Michael E. Cohen Resident Research Day. You will be encouraged to publish your findings in a respected neurology journal.
This year, you will further refine the quality improvement project you developed during your PGY-3 year.
You will further hone your supervisory skills, functioning one step below the attending neurologist.
As you oversee the work of less experienced residents and medical students, you will assign patients; review patient histories and examination/evaluation findings; and discuss diagnoses and management plans.