Residency Program Overview

Program Overview

The residency training program in Neurology, the only Neurology training program in the state of West Virginia, is fully approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. ACGME approved fellowship training beyond the residency period in Clinical Neurophysiology (EEG-EMG), may be undertaken by trainees interested in that subspecialty.

The formal portion of the categorical Neurology training program covers a period of four years or 48 months. A strong background in internal medicine is provided in the first year followed by 36 months of neurology training including 3 months of pediatric neurology and 1 month of psychiatry.  Residents also participate in the clinical neurosciences experiences, which includes active participation in the following electives; neuropathology, neuro-opthalmology, electromyography, electroencephalography, neuroradiology and headache. Research proposals can be made to spend elective time doing research. In addition each resident has a weekly neurology continuity clinic where the resident follows his/her patients during the entire residency period supervised closely by an attending. The opportunity to follow patients for long periods of time is a special strength of our program and gives the resident the experience of following the natural history and response to treatment of neurologic diseases.

The resident works closely with the faculty throughout the clinical years.  Wide variety of neurological disorders are available for residents and medical student training and teaching. Staffing rounds are made daily with the attending neurologist. The faculty and residents work closely together in the clinic setting. Residents are actively involved in the teaching and supervision of medical students and residents from other specialty training assigned to neurology. Residents are encouraged to participate actively in research projects and most have presented papers at national meetings and/or published papers by the end of their training.

All information within this site subject to change without notice.
 

The Six Core Competencies

This residency program provides training and evaluates the educational experience utilizing the 6 ACGME core competencies listed below, including: 

1. Patient Care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health
2. Medical Knowledge about established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and cognate (e.g. epidemiological and social-behavioral) sciences and the application of this knowledge to patient care
3. Practice-Based Learning and Improvement that involves the investigation and evaluation of their own patient care, appraisal and assimilation of scientific evidence, and improvements in patient care
4. Interpersonal and Communication Skills that result in effective information exchange and teaming with patients, their families, and other health professionals
5. Professionalism, as manifested through a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to a diverse patient population
6. Systems-Based Practice, as manifested by actions that demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context of health care and the ability to effectively call on system resources to provide care that is of optimal value.

Resident Evaluations

Evaluations are done at the end of every monthly rotation by faculty member of resident, resident of faculty and resident of rotation.  Evaluations address the 6 core competencies required by the ACGME, listed above.
Semi annual evaluations are done by the program director during the 4 year training program.  These are 360 degree evaluations which include faculty evaluations, evaluations by nursing staff (inpatient & outpatient), evaluations by administrative staff (clinical manager, program coordinator), patient satisfaction surverys, chart audits, peer to peer evaluations and self evaluation.
The Neurology Education Committee meets on a quarterly basis & evaluates residents performance.