Residency Curriculum

Medical Internship (PGY-1)

• Our program is currently an advanced program (separate preliminary year and neurology years).
• Please apply to multiple separate preliminary or transitional year programs in order to combine these programs for the requirements of training. We are happy to answer any questions about how this application system and rank listing would work.
• No matter where you go for intern year, and regardless of whether it is a preliminary program or a transitional medicine year, we recommend at least 6 months of training in Internal Medicine, 1 month in the Intensive Care Unit, 1 month in Emergency Medicine and 1 month in Neurology. The curriculum should fulfill the current minimum requirements for admission to an accredited Neurology Residency training program. Again, we are happy to address any questions regarding these requirements!

First Year of Residency (PGY-2)

• The purpose of the first year is to provide Residents with broad patient exposure and comprehensive training in the basics of clinical neurology. These include data gathering, case formulation, diagnosis and management of both inpatients and outpatients.
• To achieve this goal, Residents spend most of their time caring for inpatients on the Neurology Services of the Methodist University Hospital, the Regional Medical Center, and Baptist Memorial Hospital and outpatients at the VA Medical Center (VAMC).
• In addition, they attend one outpatient continuity clinic at VAMC.
• One month is spent in neurosurgery with a one-on-one tutorial with a senior neurosurgeon.
• One month is spent at St Jude for neuro-oncology.
• Two months of Night Float. When not on Night Float, residents take night and weekend call on average of once or twice per month.
• There are 1-2 months of elective.
• Prior to taking call alone, each PGY-2 is placed on “buddy calls” during July and August, where they learn time management, neurology examination skills, and important patient and clinical care skills from senior residents.
• Each PGY-2 is given free access to the Emergency Neurologic Life Support (ENLS) course through the Neurocritical Care Society. This should be completed by the end of July of your PGY-2 year.
• You must complete the USMLE Step 3 (or equivalent) by the end of your PGY-2 year, per the UTHSC GME Policy.

Second and Third Years of Residency (PGY-3 and PGY-4)

• During their second year of neurology, residents refine the skills and consolidate the knowledge gained during their first year. The Resident's intellectual growth and maturity are strengthened by handling cases of increasing diagnostic and therapeutic complexity while working closely with a Staff Neurologist.
• One to two months each year are devoted to Neurophysiology (EEG) so that residents become familiar with the epilepsy classification, interpretation of common EEGs, the diagnosis of status epilepticus and brain death, the indications and usefulness of EEG video monitoring and epilepsy surgery.
• The Residents further expand their clinical experience by rotating through Pediatric Neurology (three months), and Psychiatry (one month).
• One to two months of Night Float during PGY-3 year. When not on Night Float, residents take night and weekend call on average of once or twice per month during PGY-3 year.
• One to two months across PGY-3 and PGY-4 years are dedicated to Electromyography/Nerve Conduction Studies (EMG/NCS) with our neuromuscular subspecialists.
• Residents also begin to serve in teaching and leadership capacity as senior residents and ward chiefs.  The senior residents help in the planning, structure and scheduling of teaching conferences and the educational program for students.
• Across PGY-3 and PGY-4 years, residents have approximately 6-7 months of elective time to pursue specific subspecialty and research interests. Subspecialty electives are available for Neuro-ophthalmology, Neuro-otology, Neuro-rehab, Neuromuscular/EMG, EEG/Evoked Potentials, Sleep Disorders, Neuroradiology, Neurosurgery, Movement Disorders, Neuro-oncology, Interventional Neurology, and other personalized possibilities.

Sample Schedule

Block	PGY-2	PGY-3	PGY-4
July 1-15	General Neurology	General Neurology	Peds Neuro
July 16-31	EMG	Night float	Peds Neuro
August 1-15	Neurocritical care	Elective	Day float
August 16-31	Neurocritical care	Stroke	General Neurology
September 1-15	Elective	EMG	Peds Neuro
September 16-30	Day float	Night float	Peds Neuro
October 1-15	Stroke	Baptist Selective	Stroke Supervisor
October 16-31	Elective	Baptist Epilepsy	Elective
November 1-15	St. Jude	Elective	Elective
November 16-30	St. Jude	Stroke	EMG
December 1-15	Baptist Epilepsy	Peds Neuro	Psych
December 16-31	Night float	Peds Neuro	Psych
January 1-15	VA inpatient	ROH clinic	Peds Neuro
January 16-31	Stroke	Stroke	Elective
February 1-15	Neurosurgery	Elective	ROH clinic
February 16-28 (29)	Neurosurgery	Day float	EMG
March 1-15	VA Clinic	Elective	Elective
March 16-31	Elective	VA inpatient	Elective
April 1-15	Night float	ROH inpatient	Baptist Epilepsy
April 16-30	Elective	Night float	Baptist Epilepsy
May 1-15	ROH Inpatient	EMG	Elective
May 16-31	Night float	Elective	Elective
June 1-15	Stroke	Stroke	Elective
June 16-30	Baptist Epilepsy	Baptist Epilepsy	Elective