Pursue your path in neurology training

Build expertise in neurology subspecialties at OHSU. This four-year categorical residency includes a one-year internship plus three years of advanced residency training. You will complete a breadth of clinical rotations and have 20 electives to specialize in the areas that fit your career goals. Curriculum includes:

• Internship training
• Residency training
• Electives
• Research and scholarship
• Mentoring
• Didactics and conferences

Internal Medicine Internship Training (PGY-1)

Before starting the neurology residency, you will complete a year-long internship focused on internal medicine. The neurology residency and internal medicine program director work together to coordinate your experience. Your schedule includes 13 blocks in these specialties:

• 8 months internal medicine (includes medical ICU, palliative care, cardiology and infectious disease)
• 2 months neurology
• 1 month emergency medicine
• 1 month stroke
• 1 month neurosurgery

At the end of the year, you will have:

• Knowledge and confidence to treat medically ill patients
• Board requirements for both ACGME and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Neurology residency training

Tailor your focus on clinical care or research during three years of advanced neurology training.

Neurology, year one (PGY-2)

In your first year of residency training, you’ll study core neurology diseases and get inpatient experience at OHSU Hospital and the Portland VA Medical Center. You will:

• Complete rotations, 2 to 4 weeks each, in general neurology, stroke, the epilepsy monitoring unit and the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit.
• Complete 3 months of elective time.
• Receive guidance from attending faculty during inpatient ward rotations.
• Work closely with medical students and interns from psychiatry, internal medicine, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.
• Begin weekly general neurology continuity clinics where you will provide longitudinal patient care throughout your neurology training.

Neurology, years two and three (PGY-3 and PGY-4)

During the second and third year of neurology training, you will explore subspecialty electives and act as the consult senior on inpatient services. To meet ABPN requirements, you'll also rotate in psychiatry (1 month) and pediatric neurology service (3 months) over the course of your PGY-3 and PGY-4 years. As a senior resident, you will:

• Round with the consult attending and supervise the consult team, which may include medical students, internal medicine residents and psychiatry residents.
• Supervise first-year neurology residents on the inpatient neurology ward.
• Complete several two-week consult rotations (totaling three months per year).
• Attend weekly continuity of care clinics and finish longitudinal studies.

Residency training sites

At OHSU campuses, you will gain hands-on experience in high volume and complex neurologic cases—including serious trauma, complicated surgeries, advanced treatment and rare diseases.

Hospital locations

• OHSU Hospital
• OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital
• Portland VA Medical Center, one of the highest-volume VA hospitals in the nation
• Shriner’s Children’s Portland

Specialty clinics

At OHSU and the Portland VA Medical Center, you’ll train in a variety of subspecialty clinics:

• Aging and Dementia Clinic
• Epilepsy Clinic
• Headache Clinic
• Movement Disorders Clinic
• Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Clinic
• Neuromuscular Clinic, including ALS and EMG
• Stroke Clinic

Night coverage

Residents join our night float system to provide overnight care to neurology patients. Each academic year PGY2-4, you’ll work two separate 2-week night shifts, Monday through Saturday.

Electives and rotations

Elective time and rotations are flexible to fit your unique career goals. Most elective blocks last 2 to 4 weeks.

• PGY-2: 3 months of elective time
• PGY-3: 3 to 4 months of elective time
• PGY-4: 4 to 5 months of elective time

Through electives and rotations, you’ll explore a depth of neurology specialties, including:

• Dementia and cognitive neurology
• EEG interpretation
• Epilepsy monitoring unit
• Global neurology
• Headache
• Movement disorders
• Multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology
• Neurocritical care
• Neurointerventional radiology
• Neuromuscular disorders
• Neuro-ophthalmology
• Neuroradiology
• Neuropathology
• Neurosurgery
• Palliative care
• Sleep and polysomnography
• Research

Required rotations

In addition to the electives you choose, you’ll complete these rotations needed for neurology board certification:

• 6 months inpatient adult neurology
• 6 months outpatient neurology
• 1 month psychiatry
• 3 months pediatric neurology

Research and scholarship

As a national leader in neurology research, OHSU offers residents many ways to explore innovative ideas. You’ll learn about current studies and complete a scholarly project on potential cures or treatments for disorders affecting the brain, spinal cord and nerves.

You can use elective time to research topics and complete the assignment. Data you collect is yours for future fellowship research projects. Neurology faculty are here to guide you along the way.

Example research projects:

• Traditional research project leading to a peer reviewed journal article
• Case review, report, digital teaching module or clinical pathways for quality improvement
• A paper or poster as first author at a national meeting

Mentoring

Each neurology resident has a faculty adviser for mentorship all four years of residency. You will meet quarterly to discuss your progress and get support. Your adviser can help you pick electives, create a career path, plan research, get feedback on evaluations, and achieve your goals.

Residents also meet monthly with residency program directors to discuss training progress, new programs and policies.

Didactics and conferences

Along with hands-on learning, you’ll take part in a variety of didactic lectures and clinical care discussions led by neurology faculty and peers to deepen your training.

Join scholarly events led by industry experts and peers to deepen your training. These experiences include:

• PGY-2 bootcamp the first two weeks of July to help you prepare for residency training
• Interactive workshops (e.g., EEG, EMG, Palliative Care, Research)
• Didactics at noon on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays
• Resident case discussion (weekly resident-led presentations)
• Grand rounds (weekly, department-wide)
• Conferences (e.g., M&M, Neuroradiology, PD meeting)
• Optional weekly subspecialty conferences (e.g., epilepsy pre-surgical, multiple sclerosis and movement rounds)