Residency Training Program

Letter from the Program Director

Applicants and visitors!
Welcome to the UT-Neurology Residency website! We are one of three neurology residency training programs in the Texas Medical Center-Houston. Our program is at the cutting edge of medical education because we have been able to combine the best aspects of traditional neurology education where there is emphasis on the physical exam and localization with the best technological advances available in the field of neurology to date. You will have a strong foundation in diagnostic neurology because of exposure to experienced diagnostic clinicians and teachers and because you follow your own group of patients in continuity clinic for the three years of your neurology training. You develop a comfort level with inpatient stroke care that is equal to that of a stroke expert because of the time spent in the MHH Stroke Unit lead by Dr. Sean Savitz and our Chairman–Dr. James Grotta. This stroke unit served as a site for important landmark trials such as the NINDS tPA trials and continues to be a place where you can witness the translation of research ideas from bench to bedside. Our residents spend time in our 12 bed level 4 Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Program’s Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) where cutting edge technology such as magneto encephalography ( MEG) {of which there are only 10 sites with these units nationally}  can be used to evaluate and treat the most complex epilepsy cases. Our neuroscience intensive care facilities have been recently renovated; while the number of faculty in this area is also expanding such that we now have more neuro- intensivists than any other program in this region. The Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit offers hard wired continuous video-EEG, bedside CT imaging among other state of the art technologies. Further, because we have the only Neuro-intensive care fellowship training program in Texas, led by Dr. Asma Zakaria, the caliber of teaching is 2nd to none. We have a diverse group of faculty members with regards to the subspecialty areas of neurology with experts in Demyelinating Disease, Movement Disorders, Dementia, Neuro-rehabilitation, Neuromuscular Diseases, Epilepsy, etc.

Didactics are an important part of the formal education with daily noon conferences, weekly pediatric and adult neurology grand rounds and monthly Chairman’s rounds, Morbidity and mortality conference and brain cutting and combined conferences with neurosurgery and neurointensive care unit. Research opportunities abound in our department and in the medical school as a whole.

Faculty and support staff is extremely approachable, creating a warm and supportive environment for residents to learn and grow as neurologists.

If you are passionate about neurology, hardworking and envision yourself contributing meaningful to the field of neurology whether locally in Houston, across the region, or across the world then please consider applying to our program. Thanks for visiting.

Sincerely,
Omotola Hope, MD MHS

Message from the Chiefs

Welcome to the University of Texas Medical School at Houston Neurology Residency Program! Our program resides in the Texas Medical Center, which is the largest medical complex in the world, in the heart of Houston, Texas. In fact, the Texas Medical Center as a whole sees around 7.1 million patients annually!

Our neurology program is one of the longest established residency programs in Texas. We are surrounded by a well regarded faculty, many of whom are pioneers and leaders in their fields. Our faculty possesses a multitude of experience and each specialty is represented in full. Our vascular neurology program is one of the best in the world and is at the forefront of acute stroke treatment and research. We are also supported by the largest Neuro-Trauma ICU in the area that has 32 beds and a dedicated faculty specializing in Neuro-Critical Care. Our program is also home to the Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and a 10 bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, which is one of the largest and most comprehensive of its kind. The Multiple Sclerosis Group here at UT Houston is the North American leader in the study of Primary Progressive MS and is very active in the testing of new therapies for MS. In addition, Diagnostic Neurology, Neuro-Oncology, Dementia, Endovascular, Sleep Medicine, Movement Disorders, Neuromuscular, and Neurorehabilitation programs are also well represented. We also work very closely with our Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology colleagues in offering excellent patient care.

Our program covers various hospitals, offering residents exposure to a varying array of practice models and patient presentations. Our flagship hospital is Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center and where you will spend the majority of your inpatient time. However, during residency we also spend time at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, St. Joseph Medical Center, and Quentin Mease Community Hospital. Elective opportunities in Neuro-Oncology also abound at MD Anderson Cancer Center. We work closely with our faculty to sharpen our neurological training and partner with them to further our knowledge in the field. We strike an excellent balance of didactic and bedside teaching. Research opportunities are also available as well.

In addition to having the largest medical center in the world, Houston is a cosmopolitan city with great shopping, entertainment, nightlife, dining and museums. Houston is also very family friendly and has a low cost of living.

Thank you for your interest in the University of Texas Medical School at Houston Neurology Residency Program. We wish you the best of luck in your application process!

Justin DeLange, DO and Allison Boyle, MD
Chief Residents
Department of Neurology
University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School
Houston, Texas

Clinical Sites

• Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center

  Residents gain experience covering the following

  • Inpatient stroke and inpatient general neurology
  • Epilepsy Monitoring Unit
  • Neurology Consults

• Harris County Hospital District

  Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital

  • Residents cover all neurology consultation

  Quentin Mease Community Hospital

  • Resident continuity clinic
  • Neurology subspecialty clinics

• Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital

  • Pediatric neurology consultations/ inpatient service(along with our pediatric neurology colleagues)

• TIRR Memorial Hermann (Rehabilitation Hospital)

  • Neurology consultations

• St. Joseph's Medical Center

  • Neurology consultation
  • UT Neurology will be running the newly constructed Epilepsy Monitoring and Sleep Medicine units here

• UT Neurology Outpatient Clinics (UT Professional Building)

  • Subspecialty clinics

Call Schedule

• Weekdays call 5pm - 8am
• Weekends/Holidays 8am - 8am next day (24hr call)
• During call, residents cover patients in the stroke unit, general neurology floor, epilepsy monitoring unit
• Residents also take neurology consultations from the emergency room, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center & Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital
• Acute strokes in the ER are co-managed with the stroke or stroke attending on call

• PGY 2: 2-4 calls/month
• PGY 3: 1-2 calls/month and backup call (usually adds up to 1 month per year)
• PGY 4: home call when on LBJ rotation or when on backup call*

*Backup call: Backup call resident is activated by the resident on call when multiple acute issues arise at one time. Backup resident arrives to help the on call resident decompress the service.
*PGY3s take backup call during 2 weeks of their consultation rotations and PGY4s during 2 weeks of their Super rotations.

 

Rotations

Stroke

During this rotation emphasis is on the following:

• Acute stroke management
• Stroke evaluation to determine etiology
• Application of the latest evidence on stroke care      

Being one of the busiest stroke centers in the country, residents gain hands on experience on administering tpa, post tpa care and will see a wide spectrum of vascular disorders in patients ranging from young adults to the elderly.

General Neurology inpatient

Patients are admitted to the service from the UT Neurology clinics, through the ER, as transfers from surrounding hospitals or come from other countries for evaluation. Pathologies range from status epilepticus, myasthenic crisis, Guillain-Barre, Multiple Sclerosis exacerbations and more. The resident manages these patients under the direction of a general neurology attending.

Epilepsy Monitoring Unit

Patients are admitted for a 3-5 day stay in the unit for continuous monitoring. Emphasis is placed on reviewing EEG recordings with the attending, adjustment of antiepileptic medications during the stay and eventually planning for epilepsy care after discharge.

The resident is responsible for presenting cases for the once weekly Epilepsy Case Conference. This conference is attended by epileptologists, epilepsy neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists and behavioral psychologists. Patients are presented and surgical options discussed with the entire team.  

Residents also have the opportunity to go into the OR during the epilepsy surgery to witness intraoperative monitoring.

Ambulatory (includes subspecialty clinics- see below)

This rotation gives residents the opportunity to experience the different neurological subspecialties. Residents work one on one with the attendings in caring for the wide array of patients that come from Houston, other parts of Texas, the Gulf region, or even other parts of the country and the world.

Neuromuscular

Residents work with the neuromuscular attendings seeing pts and learning the basics of EMG and nerve conduction studies. Residents also attend didactic sessions for the neurophysiology fellows.

LBJ Consults

Residents are exposed to a wide variety of neurological deficits in various stages of progression while on the consultation service. Here the resident has the opportunity to truly act in the capacity of the consultant.

General Neurology Consults (at MH-TMC)

Residents are exposed to the wide array of neurological conditions seen at a tertiary care, level I trauma center. Consults range from infectious meningo-encephalitis to seizure management to prognosis of recovery after anoxic brain injuries.

Pediatric Neurology

Residents work with the pediatric neurology fellows in managing both the inpatient and consult services and are exposed to a wide array of pediatric neurology conditions from seizures to mitochondrial disorders to developmental disorders like autism.

Neurocritical Care

Residents have the opportunity to work in the state of the art 32 bed neuroICU caring for patients with severe strokes, post operative neurosurgical patients and those general neurology patients requiring a high level of care due to their condition. Learning topics range from management of patients with elevated intracranial pressure, management of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhages and vasospasm and patients with spinal trauma.

Neurophysiology

Residents spend their time dedicated to reading EEGs and performing and interpreting EMGs. This rotation is designed to enhance your technical skills.

Super

This rotation is during the PGY4 year. The resident is responsible for overseeing the inpatient and consult services at MH-TMC and assisting the junior neurology residents as needed.

Psychiatry

Part of the required neurology training curriculum, PGY4s spend 1 month with the psychiatry consultation team at MH-TMC

Electives

Various months are available for electives (depending on the year of training), for a resident to explore more of the subspecialties indepth. Many residents also use their electives as a dedicated research month

Subspecialties/Electives

• General/Diagnostic neurology
• Epilepsy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Neuromuscular (including nerve conduction studies/EMG)
• Movement disorders
• Vascular neurology
• Neuro-oncology
• Sleep Medicine
• Pediatric neurology
• Neuropathology
• Neuroradiology
• Dementia
• Neuro-opthalmology
• Interventional neurology
• Neurocritical care
• Neurorehabilitation
• Headache

Mischer Neuroscience Institute

http://neuro.memorialhermann.org

Fellowships

• Neurophysiology (Epilepsy or EMG track)
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Movement Disorders
• Interventional neurology
• Vascular Neurology
• Neurocritical care
• Neurorehabilitation

Didactics

• Brain cutting (with neuropathologist)
• Stroke
• Therapy of Multiple Sclerosis
• Headache
• Essential & Other Tremors
• Evidence Based Medicine
• Morbidity & Mortality Conferences
• Chairman’s Rounds
• Neuroradiology