Fellowship Structure
The Neurovascular Fellowship includes inpatient rotations, outpatient clinics and weekly lecture series. Each fellow must complete the following rotations:
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- 6 months on the Inpatient Stroke Service
- 1 month of Neurorehabilitation
- 1 month of Neurosonology
- 1 month of Neurocritical Care
3 Months of Electives
Expand each of the below to learn more:
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Inpatient Stroke Service
This service is comprised of 2-3 residents as well as medical students. The service typically has up to 20 inpatients although there may also be an additional service staffed by physician extenders. Patients may be admitted to this service through the emergency room, from UAB clinics or as transfers from other hospitals. The fellow is responsible for assisting in the management of all patients on this service as well as acute stroke patients in the emergency room. Fellows will typically not be responsible for carrying their own patient load but should function in a supervisory role over the residents.
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Neurorehabilitation
Fellows will spend one month working on the inpatient neurorehabilitation service at the Spain Rehabilitation Hospital. Here fellows will be able to monitor the progress of patients following their acute management on the inpatient stroke service. Most stroke patients admitted to the rehabilitation service will stay in the center for 1-3 weeks. Fellows will also have the opportunity to work in the outpatient rehabilitation clinics and learn about experimental techniques.
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Neurosonology
The neurosonology laboratory adjacent to the inpatient stroke unit provides an opportunity for fellows to learn carotid and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. Fellows may also learn special techniques including bubble tests, emboli detection and vasomotor reactivity. Fellows will be able to read enough studies to meet requirements to sit for the ASN examination (www.asnweb.org).
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Neurocritical Care
The NICU is located next to the inpatient stroke unit. Vascular Neurology fellows will rotate though this service and assist in the management of stroke patients as well as neurosurgical and other neurology patients requiring intensive care.
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Electives
Electives may include additional training in neurocritical care, neuroimaging or neurointerventional surgery. Fellows may also use their elective time to pursue research projects. All electives must be approved by the Program Director.
Didactics
Protected time for education is an important feature of our fellowship. Each week residents will have the opportunity to participate in several didactic sessions covering all aspects of stroke care.
- Neuroradiology Conference- A weekly conference for neurology residents and fellows to present cases for neuroimaging review.
- Grand Rounds- A weekly lecture presented by UAB faculty and visiting professors covering all aspects of neurology.
- Neurovascular Case Conference- This multidisciplinary conference meets on a weekly basis to discuss cases on the stroke and vascular neurosurgery service. This conference is also an opportunity discuss challenging patients seen in the outpatient clinics.
- Stroke Division Conference- This is a weekly conference for faculty and staff of the stroke center with alternating topics including lectures from faculty and fellows, journal club and morbidity and mortality conference.
- In addition to these conferences, fellows may be asked to give lectures for medical students as part of their neurosciences curriculum and to participate in stroke education during the UAB Neurology Residency Noon Conference Series.
Call Responsibilities
Vascular Neurology Fellows should be available during the daytime to answer questions from residents at UAB or the Birmingham VA regarding management of stroke patients. They will also participate in the overnight call system for stroke on average 5 nights each month. On weekdays, call starts at 5 PM and ends at 7 AM. On weekends, call lasts from 7 AM to 7 AM the following day.