MESSAGE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Dear Prospective Trainees,

The UIC Neurology Training Program has as its goal to prepare our trainees with the skills necessary for the modern age of neurology. While we stress classical training in the neurological history, examination, localization, and differential diagnosis, we also want our trainees to be facile in such areas as neuroinformatics, neuro-epidemiology, critical care neurology, neuroimmunology, neurogenetics, neuroimaging, the psychosocial issues in neurological disease, basic principles of clinical research, and practical issues of practice within our current health care system. In addition, we want our trainees to feel comfortable with EEG, sleep, EMG, and neurosonology.

Clearly, this is a huge task. We have determined the best way to reach these goals is through a well structured educational program. At least one-half day per week is blocked out for protected educational pursuits in addition to regular conferences. Our dedicated faculty meet regularly to insure that our trainees are getting the training necessary to meet our goals. We currently have expert teams in general neurology, stroke, epilepsy, neuromuscular diseases/neuroimmunology, critical care, behavioral neurology, neuroepidemiology and medical education.

Our department head is Phil Gorelick, MD MPH FACP. Dr. Gorelick is an outstanding teacher and has an international reputation in stroke, dementia, and neuroepidemiology research. At UIC he has established the UIC clinical stroke research center, a neurocritical care program at UIC (two fellows), a neuro-epidemiology center and a cognitive neurology division. This has enhanced the already excellent clinical training our neurology residents receive by offering truly excellent additional experiences in critical care neurology, stroke research, dementia research and neuro-epidemiology.

The Neurology Residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago is designed to provide a wide variety of clinical and research experiences. Clinical experiences are gained at three major teaching hospitals each having unique training advantages: the University of Illinois Hospital, Christ Hospital and the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Hospital. Over 40 faculty members actively participate in the training of our neurology residents.

The UIC Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation is housed in the historic Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI) where it shares quarters with the Departments of Neurosurgery & and Psychiatry. This beautifully historic building has undergone extensive renovations in commemoration of its 50th anniversary and more recently has seen the addition of new offices on the ground floor including a limited number of resident offices. Our department has a modern teaching facility with state of the art communication, audiovisual and computer links which include two dedicated conference rooms, a large historical auditorium and an extensive departmental library.
The Louis Boshes Neuroscience Library provides a truly remarkable facility for graduate level study of neurology in an intimate setting.

We are also fortunate to have a state of the art out-patient facility directly next to the NPI. This facility is self-contained and offers efficient physician collaboration and advanced patient care. An advanced computerized patient record system with innovative clinical assistance programs is used throughout the medical center in addition to digital radiology.

Our historically strong clinical training is nurtured by our close affiliations with Christ Hospital and the Jesse Brown VA as well as our strong relationships with UIC Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, and Radiology.

At UIC, we are fortunate to have a strong regional neurointerventional center headed by Dr. Sinha Roy, which attracts difficult cases from around the world. A strong neurosurgery department brings in a variety of challenging neurovascular cases among others. Neurology is intimately involved with Neurosurgery in the running of our conjoint Neuro ICU and in the management of difficult critical care, stroke, tumor, pain, movement disorder, and epilepsy cases within the medical center. Neurology has a strong presence in neurocritical care and has the resources in place for excellent training in this field.

Our ability to engage in top notch research is being steadily enhanced by the University-wide commitment to build neurosciences at the University of Illinois. Howard Lipton, M.D. heads a large neurovirology lab in the department. UIC has a nationally known MRI research center under the direction of Dr. Keith Thulborn in which dedicated neurology faculty from our division of functional neuroimaging regularly inferface. The large 9.4T MRI magnet is being developed as a clinical tool.

We know you will find the University of Illinois a stimulating and dynamic setting in which to begin your clinical training in neurology. In addition, if you have not yet discovered clean and vibrant Chicago you have a treat in store. We look forward to meeting you in the near future.

Steven U. Brint, M.D. Associate Professor Director	Sean Ruland, D.O. Assistant Professor Assistant Director
Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Neurology Residency Training Program

University of Illinois at Chicago

Affiliated Hospitals Photo Gallery
• University of Illinois Hospital
• Christ Hospital and Medical Center
• Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Hospital

UIC Medical Center The Source of Health and Healing for the People of Illinois

We consider high qualified U.S. and international medical school graduates. (We support J-1 but not H-1 visas.) Applications are accepted throughout the year but those received after November 1st will be at a disadvantage. You may send your application directly to the Program Director utilizing the UIC application available on this web site or the universal residency application, however it is preferred you participate in the National Residency Matching Program (see below). Applicants are required to have completed a preliminary year of internship in an ACGME accredited program with at least eight months of internal medicine or 6 months of internal medicine and two months of pediatrics or ER medicine. Our Neurology Residency Training Program will use the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) to receive applications electronically. You are advised to check the ERAS website for appropriate deadlines.

Our program will interview applications in December, January and early February. Specific dates will be forthcoming.

Fall/Winter 2006 Interview Schedule

Applicants are invited for interviews after applications are screened. Special arrangements for other times can be made when necessary.

Dates:

1.	Thursday	November 8, 2007
2.	Thursday	November 29th, 2007
3.	Thursday	December 6th, 2007
4.	Thursday	December 13th, 2007
5.	Thursday	January 10th, 2008
6.	Thursday	January 17th, 2008

Resident applicants are invited to an optional dinner the night prior to the interview day. To sign-up for this activity contact the Program Director.

The University of Illinois Hospital (UICH) is a modern 500 bed facility with state-of-the-art technology including MRI, CT, PET, ultrafast CT, SPECT, BEAM, conventional and transesophageal echocardiography, duplex and transcranial doppler and MRI spectroscopy. A modern 12 bed Neurology In-patient Unit is operated by the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation on the 6 East Floor of the University of Illinois Hospital. UIC Neurology has 6 Neuro ICU beds. Over 2,500 patient days of service are provided annually. The most common diagnoses are stroke, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. One floor below the Neurology Unit is a 24 bed Rehabilitation Unit which the department runs. Within an adjacent wing are located the clinical neurophysiology laboratories including EEG, video EEG, EMG, and sleep laboratory.

The Advocate Christ Hospital (Oak Lawn, IL- 30 minutes SW of UICH) is a busy 1100 bed community hospital with active programs in Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Neurological Intensive Care. Residents rotate through the Neuro-ICU at Christ Hospital. Christ hospital is the busiest hospital in general in-patient neurology in the state. Adjacent to the adult facility is the Hope Children's Hospital which our residents rotate through during part of their Pediatric Neurology rotation.

The Jesse Brown VA Hospital, formerly the West Side Veterans Administration Hospital (WSVA)(one block west of UICH) has a busy consultative, in patient, and outpatient service seeing a wide variety of cases including stroke, epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases, neuromuscular disorders, complications of substance abuse, and neuropyschiatric disorders. With the recent merger of Lakeside VA into WSVA, our program now provides an even richer experience. Additional expertise has been added in sleep and neuro-oncology.

Our residency program generally takes 4-5 residents/year. We consider highly qualified American and foreign medical graduates. Internship positions are available within the UIC system both at UIC or Christ Hospital. In order to be eligible for these internships, applicants must apply through ERAS. [Note: In order to readily obtain licensure for your internship in the state of Illinois generally speaking you must have completely medical school within five years from the time you apply for licensure.] We encourage you to place a picture on you application mainly to help us remember you after you have interviewed. An interview in person is almost always required. We post our official interview dates on this web site and information will also be mailed when you are invited for an interview.

For those of you who are interested in knowing our current salaries they are listed below.

Fiscal Year 2007 stipends:

		PGY1		PGY2		PGY3		PGY4		PGY5		PGY6		PGY7
Annual		42,960		44,880		46,800		48,960		50,880		52,200		54,420
Monthly		3,580		3,740		3,900		4,080		4,240		4,350		4,535

Health insurance and a host of other benefits are described at length in the university resident manual.

Our department provides the following educational benefits to our residents:

Membership in the Chicago Neurological Society

Membership in the American Academy of Neurology

AAN Neurology In-Service Exam (yearly)

Required books

Attendance to one national meeting (all expenses)

Registration for all Chicago Neuroscience Society Meetings

Net ID for university wide access to WWW, advanced UIC on-line library, and a large variety of software programs.

Housestaff may use all West Campus recreational facilities for a nominal fee and those on the East Campus for free. Facilities include a newly rennovated recreational complex with swimming, exercise facilities, basketball courts, dance space, and a human performance laboratory.

To see a representative housestaff photo click on photo.

A general guide to our curriculum is shown below.

During the PGY-2 year ten months are spent learning clinical neurology at the University of Illinois Hospital, Advocate Christ Hospital and the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Hospital. Daily ward rounds are supervised by an attending neurologist. Residents and students present newly admitted cases to the ward attending. There is one month of neuroradiology. At UIC there are two distinct service-lines: Stroke and General Neurology. Each service covers ward patients and consults.

During the PGY-3 and PGY-4 years, residents complete structured experiences in neurological consultation, neurointensive care, clinical electrophysiology, neuropathology, and pediatric neurology. Three months are spent in electroencephalography with additional training provided in sleep and evoked responses. [A one-year ACGME approved fellowship in Neurophysiology is offered under the direct supervision of Drs. Kaydonova, Rowin, Hughes, Meriggioli, Tomyanovich.]

During the EMG rotation, the peripheral nervous system is studied intensively. Nerve conduction velocity and electromyography studies are performed under the direct supervision of our electromyographers (Drs. Rowin & Meriggioli). Emphasis is placed on the planning and performance of studies. Additional experience is gained under the supervision of Dr. Tomyanovich at the JBVA and Dr. Itkin at Christ Hospital.

Emphasis during the neuropathology rotation is on gross and microscopic pathology. The resident reviews frozen section biopsies obtained during surgery as well as autopsy specimens under the supervision of Dr. Tibor Valyi-Nagy. Extensive teaching files are available for self-directed study. A biweekly UIC Neurology Departmental clinical Neuropathology conference is held at NPI.

During the pediatric neurology rotation, the resident spends one month at Hope Children's Hospital and two months at UIC. Infants and children are examined under the supervision of Drs. Macmillan and Goldbarg at UIC and Dr. Bob Egel and his staff at Hope Children's. At UIC the resident attends six weekly pediatric neurology clinics and serves on the child neurology inpatient consultation service.

A rotation on the Psychiatry service offers the resident insight into chronic psychiatric illness and its pharmacological management. A one or two month experience at UIC's outpatient or in-patient psychiatry services and/ or at the WSVA consult/liason psychiatry service is the venue for training. UIC's Psychiatry training program is nationally recognized and is the largest in the state.

Residents have an opportunity to serve on the Neurology Consultation Service at each of the three major teaching hospitals affiliated with the residency program. In addition, the resident acts as a teaching assistant in the neuroanatomy course taken by medical students.

The Neurology Department maintains a comprehensive self-study Web based curriculum on its intranet specifically designed to meet the educational needs of our house staff during their three years of training. Board review sections, resources for many of rotations, key articles, powerpoint lectures, and important protocols and guidelines are provided for self study. The Department Intranet system incorporates recent AAN practice guidelines to assist residents in evidence based learning.

The head of Neuroradiology is Ed Michels, M.D. and the section includes Masoud Hemmati, M.D. (Dept. Head), Keith Thulborn, M.D., a prominent figure in the field of functional MRI, and Dr. Vic Henderson and Dr. Sinha Roy (Interventional Neuroradiology). UIC has outstanding neuroimaging facilities which offers our residents all aspects of neuroimaging at a state of the art level. In addition to a weekly neurology department neuroradiology conference, the division offers our residents a one or two month elective. At UIC, all films are digitized and available for viewing on a PACS system. In addition, our residents become acquainted with the most advanced interventional neuroradiological techniques.

A Neuro-Ophthalmology elective with Dr. Anil Gulati provides the resident with exposure to visual field testing, optic nerve disorders, visual evoked responses, and eye movement disorders. The resident spends time at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary.

The Neuropsychiatry elective provides an opportunity to study neuropsychological testing and neurophysiological correlates (late evoked potentials, EEG brain mapping). The Neuropsychiatry service runs a busy out-patient diagnostic clinic. Dr. David Nienhuis (Neurology) or Dr. Neil Pliskin (Psychiatry) can supervise this elective.

The Neurorehabilitation elective is offered through our division of rehabilitation. This elective offers intensive experience in the rehabilitation of patients with stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and other disabling neurological illnesses. Dr. Linda Laatsch, an expert in cognitive rehabilitation, provides an introduction to cognitive rehab techniques.

The UIC Stroke Center elective offers the resident exposure to clinical research trials in stroke, vascular dementia and related disorders. Those with interests in neuroepidemiology, neuroinformatics, clinical drug studies, coagulation disorders, and neurosonology will find the experience enriching.

An elective in Neurosurgery offers the opportunity to work with a dynamic Neurosurgery Department headed by Dr. Fady Charbel. The Department of Neurosurgery is a center of excellence in vascular neurosurgery, interventional neuroradiology (with Dept. of Radiology), epilepsy surgery, neuro-oncology and stereotactic procedures. They also sponsor an advanced brain imaging laboratory. Faculty include: Neurovascular and Interventional Neurosurgery - Drs. Charbel, Hanjani, Lemole, Hersonskey; Neuro-oncology- H. Englehard; Peripheral Nerve- B. Roitberg; Spine - M. Barua, M.D.; Stereotactic - C. Slavin.

Dr. Carol Macmillan supervises a month rotation in Neurogenetics which allows the residents to review human inheritance, develop his/her skills in identifying and writing pedigrees, understanding appropriate neurogenetic tests to order, and keep current on those neurological conditions with identifiable genetic defects. The resident attends Neurogenetics clinic (Peds) and patient counseling sessions and may do a focused project.

At the end of the rotation, a written evaluation made by the attending physician supervising that rotation is sent to the resident. Residents are observed and evaluated examing an unknown patient in a mock board setting at least annually. All residents are required to take the annual American Academy of Neurology In-Service Training Examination. Each resident undergoes supervised examinations to prepare him/her for ultimate ABPN Board certification. The Program Director meets with residents twice yearly to review their progress. Residents are evaluated according to ACGME core competencies.

Throughout the three-year program, each resident spends at least one half-day in the clinic following outpatients assigned to him/her. Over 11,000 visits are made annually to the Neurology Clinic at the University of Illinois. An alternative clinic experience is offered at the busy Jesse Brown VA Out-Patient Center. The clinic epxerience provides an opportunity for long-term follow-up and evaluation of patients with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, stroke, headache, epilepsy, and other neurologic conditions. An attending neurologist supervises each Neurology Clinic session. At UIC the Neurology Clinic is staffed by two full time nurses and a full-time pharmacist. While the residents are in the EEG or EMG Laboratory, they spend an additional half-day per week in the Neurology Clinic performing consultations or outpatient lumbar punctures. In addition to the patient areas, the clinic area houses a small lecture hall, a conference room, and library. Computers with extensive literature databases are available for resident use.

Residents take in-house call at the University of Illinois Hospital. Cases are discussed with a senior resident and/or an attending. When necessary, the back-up resident or attending is called in to further evaluate the patient. Each resident is on house call approximately every fifth to sixth night during the first year and progressively less each year.

Please see our Faculty and Faculty Interest Groups link for a listing of faculty by specialty.

Teaching conferences are held throughout the year and include Neuroradiology (weekly, conjoint monthly with Neurosurgery/Neurointerventionalists), Brain Cutting/Neuropathology (biweekly), Neurology Grand Rounds (weekly, conjoint with Neuropsychiatry monthly), EMG (weekly) and in preparation for boards a Neuroscience Review Course covers neuroanatomy, neurogenetics, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuropathology and advanced clinical topics. (For this past year's Intensive Neuroscience series please see the link on the Departmental home page.) Conferences in Neuro-ophthalmology, Child Neurology, Neuropsychiatry are held. Special lectures by visiting professors occur throughout the year.

The Departments of Neurology and Rehabilitation, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry jointly operate a Comprehensive Epilepsy Center that provides a variety of services to epilepsy patients including access to drug trials and epilepsy surgery. With over 1200 patients and 3000 patient visits per year, the Epilepsy Center is the largest such program in Illinois. The Epilepsy Center maintains two video-monitored EEG beds in the University of Illinois Hospital.

In cooperation with the Department of Neurosurgery, the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation has created a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Patients in the Comprehensive Stroke Center have access to the latest therapeutic and diagnostic modalities for stroke including innovative drug trials for acute stroke and stroke prevention. Over 200 acute stroke patients are treated each year. All stroke patients are registered in the UIC Stroke Registry. The Department of Neurosurgery offers specialized vascular bypass procedures that are available at only a few medical centers nationally.

Under the direction of Deborah Little, PhD (Head, Section on Functional Neuroimaging) our residents may elect to participate in functional imaging in the UIC MRI center utilizing both routine and research protocols.

 

The Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation operates two clinical laboratories within the University of Illinois Hospital. The Electroencephalography Laboratory offers exposure to a variety of diagnostic tests including electroencephalograms, ambulatory electroencephalogram, video-monitored electroencephalogram, intra-operative electroencephalograms, evoked potentials, and intra-operative evoked potentials. The Electromyography Laboratory offers residents the opportunity to perform electromyograms and nerve conduction studies.

The Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation has a broad scope of clinical research programs that offer residents many opportunities to participate actively in research on neurological disorders. Residents are encouraged to develop research projects in collaboration with Neurology Faculty actively engaged in research. See Faculty Interest Groups link.

The University of Illinois at Chicago is a major research university with over 80 scientists working in the neurosciences. Neuroscientists are organized in a university-wide Committee on Neurosciences. The Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation interacts actively with neuroscientists throughout the University providing research opportunities for neurology residents.

Link to Sample Resident Agreements from the GME website

 

UIC Medical Center is located in the vibrant Illinois Health Center District. Within walking distance is "Little Italy" on Taylor St. with numerous restaurants. Greektown is a 5 minute drive from the medical center. The United Center (Bulls, Blackhawks) is 4 blocks from the medical center. There is an elevated train stop (L-stop) on the campus with quick access to the loop. Resident applicants will have many nearby neighborhoods to choose to reside including Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, Lake View, Oak Park, River North, Bucktown, Printer Row, Skokie all less than about a 30 minute drive. There are several nearby apartment buildings walking distance to the medical center. Numerous inexpensive suburbs with easy access to major expressways are other alternatives. The East campus of UIC (non-health related graduate schools and undergraduate school) is about 1 mile east of the West Campus (medical school, medical center, dental school, affilitated health professional schools). A large well equipped modern student union is located on both campuses with complete and extensive recreational facilities. For further housing and university information please check the university website.

Related link - Exploring Chicago website.

Steven U. Brint, M.D. sbrint@uic.edu Director	Sean Ruland, D.O. sruland@uic.edu Assistant Director
Neurology Residency Training Program Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation (M/C 796) University of Illinois at Chicago 912 S. Wood Street Chicago IL 60612-7330 Telephone: 312.996.6906 Fax: 312.996.4169 Internet: neuro@uic.edu