The First Year of Neurology (PGY2)
The PGY2 year is designed to teach the fundamentals of caring for neurology patients. During this year, residents rotate monthly through the five adult neurology hospitals:
First year residents evaluate patients in the outpatient clinics, on consult services, and in the emergency room. They also manage patients admitted to neurology services. Additionally, they take overnight in-house calls (except MDACC which is home call) and take primary responsibility for the care of patients they admit. The wide diversity of patients seen in our hospitals exposes first year residents to a myriad of neurologic disorders and provides a broad exposure to all aspects of neurology: acute neurological emergencies, common chronic diseases, as well as tertiary referral neurology. There are over 3, 500 neurology admissions per year to our hospitals and thousands more consults representing a diverse and unique clinical experience.
One month in the first year is spent divided between the Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology services at MEDVAMC. The neurosurgery part of the rotations allows residents to learn about many surgical disorders seen by the practicing neurologist, including spondylitic disease, neck injury, head trauma, and the management of increased intracranial pressure. The neuroradiology experience is a critical introduction to the basics of CT, MRI, and angiography.
First year residents also attend numerous didactic daily conferences and outpatient clinics, as detailed subsequently .