There are three pathways by which a resident can receive training in the Pediatric Neurosciences, with differences related to specific individual interests. All three pathways begin in year one of residency (PGY-1). Some application cycles may also include a reserved position for those who have already completed their 3-year pediatrics residency and have decided they would like to pursue pediatric neurology.
Child Neurology Residency
The Child Neurology Residency is a five-year residency program designed for individuals interested in clinical practice and clinical research in Child Neurology. It is composed of two years of general pediatrics residency training followed by three years of neurology training. The three years of neurology training include six months of inpatient adult neurology, six months of outpatient adult neurology related specialties, and twenty-four months of child neurology, both inpatient and outpatient specialty clinics. Graduates of this residency are eligible for American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) board certification. This is the most common pathway for child neurology training.
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities is a six-year residency program designed for individuals with a particular interest in understanding the presentation and management of neurological and developmental manifestations of a single brain condition, in learning the underlying neural pathways and pathophysiological changes contributing to different symptoms, in completing training under a multidisciplinary model, and in providing holistic and comprehensive care for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. The program includes two years of pediatric training followed by four years of training in neurodevelopmental disabilities. The four years of neurodevelopmental disabilities training include six months of inpatient adult neurology, six months of outpatient adult neurology related specialties, eighteen months of clinical training in child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities and eighteen months of clinical and basic science education. Given the critical importance of inpatient child neurology training for clinical competence—and importantly, as an essential part of the care for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities—residents in our program complete the same inpatient neurology training as the other residency pathways in Pediatric Neurosciences. Additionally, outpatient rotations with a more specific focus on neurodevelopmental disabilities are woven throughout the four years of training following pediatrics. Graduates of this residency are eligible for American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) board certification—to include Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.
Child Neurology Basic Neuroscience Residency
This program is administered by the Child Neurology Residency Program and approved by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. It is designed for individuals with a basic science background and long-term interests in a combined clinical plus basic neuroscience research career. This is a five-year residency program involving one year of general pediatrics training followed by three years of clinical child neurology training (as described above for Child Neurology Residency) and ending with one year of mentored basic neuroscience research in an affiliated laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, including at the Texas Children's Neuroscience Research Institute. The year of basic neuroscience research requires an ABPN-approved research plan and is typically an uninterrupted 12-month period. The residents can elect to take 6 months of research electives, leading to up to 18-months of uninterrupted research during the final 2 years of residency training. Graduates of this residency are eligible for American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) board certification.