Adult Neurology

You will develop the skills needed for a primary level of neurological care for adults as you observe and learn from some of the region’s top neurology experts, as well as related health care specialists and senior adult neurology residents.

The bulk of your adult experience takes place during your first year (PGY-3), and advances during your second year (PGY-4).

You will gradually increase your knowledge as you master the classical approach to diagnosis and management of neurological disease: localization, differential diagnosis, diagnostic plan, treatment plan and follow-up.

As you progress through your adult neurology rotations, you will assume more responsibility and make more independent clinical decisions.

You will develop a flexible skill set training in a variety of health care facilities in Buffalo, including an urban general medical center, a specialized vascular and stroke treatment institute and a regional hospital serving veterans. You also will provide patient consultations at a world-class comprehensive cancer center.

You will learn to achieve the best outcome possible for each patient through innovative treatment strategies and sound follow-up care.

Under the guidance of neurologists and senior neurology residents, you will acquire the clinical skills and diagnostic tools that guide your decisions about patient care.

You will develop strong evaluative skills as you obtain thorough neurological histories and perform general physical and neurological examinations.

You also will learn to develop comprehensive differential diagnoses of most neurological problems, using our outstanding facilities and diagnostic equipment.

As you prepare to pass your clinical mock boards in adult neurology, your skill set will grow to include:

• sophisticated techniques for bedside neurological examination, including lumbar puncture
• fine-tuning diagnoses through localization — a comprehensive process to identify the type of nervous system dysfunction and the site of the lesion causing symptoms
• interpreting electrophysiological and imaging tests and integrating findings with clinical and laboratory results, working with our expert multidisciplinary specialists
• general medical knowledge related to neurological problems, including drug interactions and side effects, neurological sequelae of medical and surgical disease and indications for medical and surgical management related to neurological disease

You will learn from — and teach — your team members as you engage in dialogue, participate in daily rounds and present your findings and proposed care plans.

As you hone and refine your skills based on frequent feedback from more experienced members of your team, you will have opportunities to take on more responsibility and more challenging cases.

Through active participation in our robust didactic training, including lectures, you will gain a solid scientific background, beginning with the fundamentals of brain structure and function, and learn to apply this knowledge to patient care.

You also will continually update your knowledge of neurology as you conduct research, present and apply information from the scientific and medical literature to your clinical work.

You will discover your own best approach to patient care by observing expert faculty-physicians at work and participating in formal and informal learning experiences.

You will develop your ability to communicate effectively with diverse patients, family members and health care providers; make use of a wide variety of health care resources; and continually grow as a physician.

Your male and female adult patients from throughout Western New York will include veterans. You will encounter numerous conditions, including:

• multiple sclerosis
• movement disorders
• dementia
• neuro-ophthalmologic (vision problems)
  
• stroke
• sleep disorders

At Buffalo General Medical Center, your care team, guided by an attending neurologist, includes:

• 1 senior adult neurology resident
  
• 2 junior adult neurology residents
  
• rotating residents from non-neurology specialties
• 2-4 medical students

You will be the first physician to encounter a patient and will work directly with four to seven patients at a time. Your team will typically care for about 20 patients at a time.