During the four weeks that students rotate on neurology, they are assigned to two rotations, each for two weeks.

Core Rotations

Inpatient Neurology (usually available to 3-5 students at a time)

The two inpatient neurology teams each consist of an attending, two PGY2 neurology residents, and two interns.  A PGY4 senior neurology resident supervises both teams.

• Stroke:  Students assigned to the inpatient stroke team will be team will be assigned patients to follow, pre-round on daily, write admitting H&P and daily progress notes, and present on daily attending rounds.  The student will be expected to round with the team on at least one weekend day during the two-week rotation.  The inpatient stroke team cares for patients admitted for stroke or other cerebrovascular disease issues only.  The patients tend to stay for shorter periods of time with actively evolving issues during their stay.  This may be a good choice for students interested in cardiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, radiology, and  surgery (especially cardiothoracic, vascular, or neuro-surgery)
• General:  Students assigned to the inpatient general neurology team will be assigned patients to follow, pre-round on daily, write admitting H&P and daily progress notes, and present on daily attending rounds.  The student will be expected to round with the team on at least one weekend day during the two-week rotation.  The inpatient general team cares for patients admitted for non-cerebrovascular disease issues.  The patients have more variable diagnoses and clinical findings, and tend to stay in house for longer periods of time with less day-to-day dynamic changes as compared to the stroke service. This may be a good choice for students interested in internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry.

Inpatient Adult Consults (usually available to 2-4 students at a time)

This service has a neurology attending, a PGY3 neurology resident, and sometimes one or more interns.  The team provides consultation on neurological issues for inpatients admitted to other services.  This is a fast-paced and busy service, typically with 2-7 new consults daily. The student will be given patients to see and present to the resident, with a chart note and oral presentations on attending rounds.  The team rounds on a given patient for only a day or two in many cases, depending on the neurological issues involved.  The student may be required to round with the team on one weekend day during the two-week rotation. This may be a good choice for students interested in internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, or surgery.

Specialty Rotations

Neurology Outpatient Unit (NOPU) (usually available to 1-3 students at a time)

This rotation offers outpatient experiences with variable levels of participation or observation.  Students will shadow neurology residents as they see patients in their continuity clinics, or attending neurologists as they see their private patients in their subspecialty clinics.. Students will also spend one weekend day seeing urgent inpatient and emergency department consultations with the resident on call.  Students will perform history and or examination of patients and then present to residents and/or attendings.  Since the patient volume ebbs and flows widely, students on this rotation will thrive in NOPU only if they show self-direction and initiative in involving themselves in patient evaluation and care.  Students should expect to see a large number of patients presenting with common non-emergent neurological complaints, but Medicare/Medicaid and UVA Medical Center policies, which lie outside the clerkship’s control, limit the student’s degree of independence in this rotation.    There is generally more consistent exposure to residents than attendings as teachers. This may be a good choice for students interested in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and family medicine

Pediatric Neurology (usually available to 1-3 students at a time)

This is a consultative service to pediatric patients seen in a variety of settings.  The team follows a usually small census of pediatric and neonatal inpatients on daily attending rounds.  The team performs new consultations on neurological issues to pediatric and neonatal patients in the inpatient and Emergency Department settings.  Where possible, the student will be given patients to follow, pre-round upon, present in rounds, and write admitting H&P as well as daily notes on.  The team also provides weekly consultative evaluations of pediatric cases at the Kluge Rehabilitation facility on Ivy Road.  The student will also attend weekly outpatient pediatric clinics.  The student will round with the team on one weekend day during the two-week rotation. For reasons of personnel and patient volume, this rotation is generally limited to students planning to enter pediatrics or a related field.

Fontaine Specialty clinics

The student will join different faculty clinics at the Fontaine neurology clinics representing disciplinary sub specialties including movement disorders, neuropsychology, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, general neurology and limited electrophysiological testing.