About the Program
Fellows in the Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine train on a brain injury unit and learn effective team leadership and medical management of persons with brain injury, including consultation-liaison, admission screening, acute and post-acute care, vocational and educational rehabilitation, and working with families. Fellows develop skills to manage spasticity through serial and inhibitive casting, medications, motor point and nerve blocks, botulinum toxin injections and intrathecal Baclofen pumps.
Program Competencies
- Understanding the mechanisms of action and side effects of pharmacologic agents used for neurobehavioral and cognitive and affective dysfunctions after brain injury
- Developing expertise to perform mental status and neurofunctional examinations to interpret neuroimaging studies, EEG, evoked potentials and neuropsychological testing and to relate these findings clinically
- Understanding the pathophysiology of coma and learn appropriate assessment techniques and management skills
- Learning to assess and treat cranial nerve, musculoskeletal, and other dysfunctions caused by brain injury
- Learning to develop and implement behavioral modification programs for persons with brain injury
- Developing an awareness of medico-legal issues pertinent to brain injury, including competence, guardianship and expert witness testimony
- Learning administrative skills in program development and evaluation, team leadership, and quality improvement
Admissions
Applicants for the Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship must have completed an accredited residency program in PM&R, and gain a full Texas Medical License by February of the year starting.
For application information, please call Nichelle Franklin at (713) 798-3518.
Curriculum
As a part of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Fellowship responsibilities include:
- Performing acute care consults
- Performing history and physical examinations
- Participating in daily bed service rounds and outpatient clinics
- Supervising medical students and residents who rotate in the programs
- Participating in ongoing research programs, including preparing at least one paper for submission for publication, preparing submissions to national meetings and collaborating in the preparation of grant proposals
- Participating in PM&R didactic teaching, including on Grand Rounds and one research conference presentation
- Participating in PM&R resident clinical education, including monthly clinical teaching rounds
- Attending program development meetings
2024-2025 Fellow
Rachel Reeves, D.O.
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
Medical School: Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Corewell Health Taylor Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Hobbies/Personal Interests: Reading, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and trying new restaurants.
PM&R Interests: Brain Injury, disorders of consciousness, spasticity
Why Baylor? I chose BCM for its outstanding reputation, world-class faculty, and facilities. Their innovative approach to spasticity and patient-centered care is at the forefront of their rehabilitation program. The strong academic curriculum and personalized teaching will help me deepen my understanding and knowledge of brain injury and spasticity, which will help me better care for my patients in the future and become the physiatrist I aim to be.
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