Neurology Residency Program

About

The Neurology Residency Program at Madigan Army Medical Center began in 1991. The program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The residency is under the direction of the Program Director, the Director of Graduate Medical Education, the Graduate Medical Education Committee, and the Hospital Commander.

The residency training program is four years (PGY 1-4). The program is accredited for eight training positions, two per years. Occasionally, the need for neurologists in the Army coupled with a quality group of applicants will result in permission to train three residents in a specific year. Because of the large patient populations of active duty, dependents, and retirees, a broad exposure to neurological illness in all age groups is offered. Madigan’s wide referral base also offers exposure to rare neurological diseases infrequently seen in civilian teaching centers.

The program consists of a variety of inpatient, outpatient, subspecialty, and research rotations both within and outside of Madigan. All residents have one-half day of continuity clinic every week throughout the four years except when doing rotations in cardiology (PGY-1), or in Seattle (PGY-4). All residents are issued laptop computers with secure access to medical records, radiology images, lab results, reference/educational resources, email, and internet. All residents are required to participate in scholarly activity, including teaching, literature reviews, case presentations at Madigan and the University of Washington, journal club reviews, and discussions of contemporary neurological topics. Residents partake in night call on a rotating basis from home during the PGY-2, -3, and -4 years. All PGY-2, -3, -4 residents take the annual Resident In-service Training Examination (RITE) sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology and the Annual Neurology Service Oral Examination which includes vignettes and examination of a live patient.

THE GOALS OF THE NEUROLOGY RESIDENCY PROGRAM ARE:

1. To provide the resident with excellence in educational and clinical experience so that upon graduation he/she will possess the knowledge, ability, competence, and confidence to function independently in bringing quality neurological care to patients.
2. To satisfactorily fulfill all necessary requirements of the ACGME to qualify the graduating resident for eligibility and eventual certification by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and/or the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.
3. To provide the resident with experience in scholarly activity and opportunity to engage in clinical research so that upon graduation he/she will continue to be academically curious and inquisitive, therefore maintaining a lifelong process of learning in order to provide their patients with state-of-the-art medical care.
4. To provide the resident with the education, skills, and experience to be a teacher and educator of other health care personnel, patients, and families
5. To provide the resident with a moral compass that will enable them to integrate the highest standards of care, compassion, empathy, and professionalism into all encounters with their patients. The resident should possess the confidence and the sensitivity to interact and counsel patients and their families of various culturally diverse backgrounds regarding issues of diagnosis, care, prognosis, and ethical decision making.
6. To provide the resident with the education of how the Six Core Competencies (Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, and Systems-Based Practice) are integrated into every aspect of their academic, clinical, and professional lives, and will continue to be integrated long after their residency has been completed.