The Child Neurology Residency is a five-year program designed for medical school graduates interested in a career in child neurology.
Residents spend their first two years in an accelerated training program within the Pediatric Residency. The remaining three years include the requisite twelve months of inpatient and outpatient adult neurology, 24 months of child neurology and elective rotations. The adult training is concentrated in the third postgraduate year, but some adult neurology rotations are deferred until the final two years. The resident continuity clinic begins in the third postgraduate year as one half-day a week and continues until the end of training. Child neurology residents are only responsible for pediatric night calls even during the adult neurology rotations.
Rotations
The curriculum includes 13 block rotations per year that each last four weeks. Likely rotations include:
13 Adult Neurology Rotations
- Inpatient.
- Outpatient clinics.
- Electromyography/electroencephalography.
- Electives such as movement disorders, multiple sclerosis and cognitive neurology.
26 Child Neurology Rotations
- Inpatient.
- Outpatient (includes ketogenic diet clinic, spasticity clinic, minimal disease activity, concussion and autism).
- EEG/epilepsy monitoring unit rotations.
- Pediatric rehabilitation.
- Genetics.
- Child psychiatry.
- Electives: Neuro-ophthalmology, neuro-oncology, movement disorders/spasticity management, autism, cognitive/neurobehavioral, headache, neuropsychiatry, pediatric neuromuscular, research and pediatric neurosurgery.
Other Curriculum Facts
- All Neurology night calls relate to pediatric neurology.
- Outpatient specialty clinics blend adult and pediatric neurology experiences when feasible.
- Rotations occur at the Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, Dell Children’s Hospital and the Specialty Pavilion of Dell Children’s Hospital.
- Resident continuity clinic is one half-day a week throughout years three through five. It is located at the Specialty Pavilion of Dell Children’s Hospital.
- Global Health electives with a faculty member are available in Africa and the Caribbean.
- Residents attend a variety of conferences, including weekly neurology and pediatrics grand rounds, weekly child neurology noon conference, a monthly pediatrics multidisciplinary case conference, neurology journal club, neurology morning report and resident didactic conferences. Each child neurology resident prepares at least one of the child neurology noon conference presentations per year.
- Residents work with program faculty members to complete one or more scholarly projects and submit it for publication. They are supported as needed by an experienced medical editor, a statistician and other resources.
About the Faculty
Since the Child Neurology residency affiliated with the UT Health Austin Pediatric Neurosciences program began in 2019, its full-time faculty has grown dramatically. The program now features 17 faculty members with expertise in epilepsy, headache, neuro-immunology, neurogenetics, vascular dysfunction, autism, neuromuscular diseases, neuro-ophthalmology, stroke and movement disorders. Designed to facilitate multidisciplinary care and collaboration, the Pediatric Neurosciences program also includes three pediatric neurosurgeons, seven pediatric neuropsychologists, a genetic counselor and two pediatric rehabilitation specialists. Importantly, the program plans to add six to eight child neurology faculty members during the next two to three years.
The adult neurology faculty includes individuals with fellowship training in neurophysiology, neuromuscular disease and electromyography, stroke, vascular and interventional neurology, behavioral neurology, multiple sclerosis, headache and neuroimaging. The program also offers educational opportunities in numerous subspecialties, including neuro-oncology, movement disorders, sleep disorders, neuropathology, neuro-ophthalmology, interventional neuroradiology, psychiatry and neurosurgery.