During your three year residency training, you will spend about half of your time at Hartford Hospital.  Most of the other half will be spent at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington.

THE FIRST YEAR (PGY-2)

The emphasis in the first year is to develop patient assessment and image interpretation skills as well as a knowledge base of general neurology.  To facilitate this, residents spend the majority of the first year (9 months) providing care for hospitalized patients on the Inpatient Neurology service at Hartford Hospital.

The one-month rotation in Neuroradiology is where residents assist in the reading and interpretation of x-rays, MR and CT’s as well as in performing diagnostic procedures.  Exposure to other imaging modalities (PET, SPECT, etc) is also provided.

The remaining month is spent in the ICU participating in the management of critically ill neurology and neurosurgery patients and on the hospital-wide vascular neurology consult service.

THE SECOND YEAR (PGY-3)

The role of a second year resident includes teaching and increased autonomy during three (3) months as an Emergency Room consultant at Hartford Hospital.  Residents are also introduced to Neurophysiology (2 months) at the University Health Center and the Hospital for Special Care, Pediatric Neurology (3 months) at the Children’s Hospital, and the many Subspecialty Outpatient Clinics (2 months) at both Hartford Hospital and the University Health Center.

When in Pediatric Neurology, the resident is responsible for overseeing inpatients, inpatient consults and emergency room consults.  In addition, outpatient child neurology evaluations are performed in clinics under the presence/supervision of the staff pediatric neurologists. Residents learn to read pediatric EEG’s and are exposed to pediatric neuro-radiology.  Sub-specialty clinics at the Children’s Hospital include muscle disease, epilepsy, and neuro-genetics.

During the Neurophysiology rotation, EMG and neuromuscular disease are taught.  The resident first observes EMG studies being performed on patients and practices nerve conduction studies on normal persons then, in his/her second month, begins to perform NCS on patients under the guidance of an EMG physician.  Residents also take part in MDA and ALS clinics.

During a one-month rotation in Electrophysiology (EEG) residents review normal EEG’s, manipulate digital data to display findings, and learn about recording techniques.  Residents review current records prior to reading them with the electro-encephalographer.  Review of our collection of abnormal EEG recordings, evoked potential and sleep records enable residents to learn the pattern recognition required for interpretation.  Residents gain some knowledge of polysomnography.

The two-month Outpatient Subspecialty Clinic rotation during the PGY-3 & 4 years assure that the residents are exposed to the full range of outpatient neurologic diagnoses.  Held at both Hartford Hospital and the University Health Center, the weeks consist of clinics in the subspecialties of stroke, MS, epilepsy, movement disorders, MDA, neuro-oncology and neuro-ophthalmology.

THE THIRD YEAR (PGY-4)

Senior neurology residents provide leadership and are responsible for inpatient consultations, spending three months each at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center.  They supervise the junior neurology residents and rotating medicine and psychiatry residents during these inpatient rotations.  Clinical, teaching and leadership skills are refined through this process.  They also spend one (1) month each of Neuropathology, Neuro-Rehabilitation, and Psychiatry at Hartford Hospital.
 
In Neuropathology, residents learn the work-up of new autopsy material and assist with microscopic sections and examine slides, review/study sets of microscopic and electron micrograph biopsy material, review current cases, and develop samples and slides for case presentations and CPC’s.  They attend adult and neonatal brain cutting. 

During Neuro-Rehabilitation, the residents learn and develop skills in the neuro-rehabilitation process including all aspects of specialized clinical assessment, interdisciplinary working and monitoring of structured goals as applied to patients recovering from acute neurological illnesses, especially stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. They attend rounds on the Spinal Cord Injury service at the Hospital for Special Care as well as participate in therapy sessions with the rehab team – physical and occupational therapy, speech/dyshpagia therapy, cognitive therapy, rehabilitation nursing, neuropsychology, social work counseling, and prosthetics.  Residents also attend the physiatry outpatient clinics and the prosthetic/orthotic clinics.

The Psychiatry rotation teaches the residents medical aspects of psychiatry including the diagnosis of psychiatric syndromes, behavioral neurology, psycho-pharmacology, and how to contend with difficult patients.  Under the supervision of the psychiatry attending group and members of the patient’s treatment team, they are responsible for the care of patients including, but not limited to, the initial psychiatric diagnostic evaluation, pharmacologic management, and daily progress notes.