UAB is proud to offer a UCNS-accredited fellowship in Neurocritical Care. UAB houses a 36-bed, dedicated Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit, which is staffed continuously by 2 neurointensivist-led multidisciplinary teams. Patients are managed collaboratively by the critical care teams as well as the admitting service, which may be either general neurology, vascular neurology, or neurosurgery. Fellows will interact closely with a broad range of specialists and subspecialists, as well as critical care pharmacists, advanced practice providers, neuroscience nurses, and a full range of allied health professionals. As an institution, UAB offers several advantages for prospective fellows seeking advanced training:
- Rich and diverse patient population, due in part to our large cachement area
- Designated as a Level 1 Trauma Center
- Currently the only Joint Commission-certified Comprehensive Stroke Center in the state of Alabama
- NAEC-Certified Level 4 Epilepsy Center
Program Structure
The UAB Neurocritical Care Program offers 3 different training pathways, suitable for fellows from a variety of different backgrounds. These include:
- A 24-month program, designed for applicants without prior training in neurosurgery or critical care. In order to be eligible, applicants must be on track to complete an ACGME- or RCPSC- accredited training program in neurology, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, or internal medicine prior to beginning fellowship training.
- A 12-month program, intended for applicants who have previously completed an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited critical care fellowship. This pathway allows an experienced intensivist to gain additional expertise in patients with neurological disease.
- A 12-month program, structured for applicants from ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited neurosurgical programs.
Fellows will have the opportunity to rotate through the medical ICU, the trauma-burn ICU, the surgical ICU, and the cardiac surgery ICU in addition to their NICU rotations. Additional clinical experiences include vascular neurology and the OR. A variety of elective opportunities including epilepsy, neuroradiology, neurosurgery and cerebrovascular ultrasound are available to supplement the curriculum.
Didactics
As part of a large academic medical center, fellows benefit from a variety of educational opportunities. The Critical Care Medicine lecture series provides a comprehensive overview of critical care principles, and is attended by critical care fellows from the Departments of Anesthesiology and Internal Medicine as well. Neurocritical care fellows are integrated closely with the Anesthesiology Critical Care program, which sponsors daily noon lectures as well as a journal club and case conference. Fellows also attend the neurosurgery morning report and the weekly cerebrovascular conference, which includes faculty from neurosurgery, vascular neurology, neurocritical care and neuroradiology. Through one-on-one meetings, bedside teaching rounds, case conferences and directed reading, fellows will have ample exposure to core principles of neurocritical care.
Core Faculty
The program is directed by Dr. Angela Hays Shapshak, a neurologist with more than 10 years of experience as a practicing neurointensivist and medical educator. Dr. Hays Shapshak completed her neurology residency at Washington University in Saint Louis before going on to a fellowship in Neurocritical Care and Cerebrovascular Diseases at the University of California at San Francisco. She is board certified in neurology (ABPN), vascular neurology (ABPN), and neurocritical care (UCNS).
Dr. David Miller, an associate professor of anesthesiology, serves as both the medical director of the NICU and the Director of the Division of Critical Care Medicine, and Vice Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. Dr. Miller completed a residency in anesthesiology and a fellowship in critical care medicine, both at UAB. He is board-certified in anesthesiology and critical care medicine by the ABA, and in Neurocritical Care by UCNS.
Dr. Kenneth Smithson completed his clinical training in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He holds a PhD in Physiology and Neuroscience, and has more than 20 years of experience in neurocritical care and neuroanesthesiology. His research interests include the effect of anesthetic agents on tumorigenesis, postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction postoperatively and delirium in the ICU.
Dr. Vinod Singh completed his medical education and residency training in internal medicine in India, before moving to the UK to pursue additional residency training in anesthesiology. He went on to complete fellowships in critical care medicine and neurocritical care at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK. Dr. Singh joined the faculty at UAB in 2013, and has been active in both research and graduate medical education.
Dr. Mali Mathru is a professor of anesthesiology, who has been practicing critical care medicine for more than 30 years. He has authored more than 100 publications on topics such as ARDS, ischemic preconditioning, physiological effects of hypertonic fluids, and genetic factors associated with outcome in subarachnoid hemorrhage. He attends frequently in the NICU, and is a valuable mentor for residents and fellows.
Dr. Sangha completed his neurology training at SUNY Upstate Medical University, followed by fellowships in Neurocritical Care and Vascular Neurology at Northwestern School of Medicine. He will be attending in the NICU and on the Acute Stroke Service as of July, 2017.
Dr. Bush completed her anesthesiology residency at the University of Louisville before going on to a critical care fellowship at the University of Kentucky, followed by a neurocritical care fellowship at Northwestern. She joined the faculty as a neurointensivist and neuroanesthesiologist in September of 2017.
To Apply
Applications will be accepted via the San Francisco Match program (https://www.sfmatch.org).
For additional information, please contact:
Program Director
Angela Hays Shapshak, MD
Associate Professor, Departments of Neurology and Anesthesiology
Program Director, Neurocritical Care Fellowship
Associate Director, Neurology Residency Program
P: 205.934.2401 | ashapshak@uabmc.edu