Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship

Program Director:  George A. Small, MD
Accreditation:  ACGME
Program Length:  1 year (PGY5)
Fellows per year: 2 starting in July 2013

About the Program
Application Information
Benefits and Stipends
Contact Us
Curriculum

About the Program

The American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), through the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), certifies our Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program.  Upon successful completion of our fellowship program, the fellow is eligible to sit for the examination for the  Added Qualification in Clinical Neurophysiology as well as for the ABEM examination.

The program encompasses acquisition of knowledge in clinical neurophysiology testing and electives, as follows:

• Electroencephalography (EEG)/ evoked potential (EP) testing (5 months)
• Electromyography (EMG)/ nerve conduction velocity (NCV) studies (5 months)
• Electives (2 months), which may include pediatric neurophysiology, neurorehabilitation, polysomnography, botulinum toxin administration, and intraoperative monitoring

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Application Information

The prerequisite for our program is successful completion of an ACGME-accredited residency in adult or pediatric neurology in an accredited U.S. or Canadian program.

To apply, submit a curriculum vitae, personal statement, medical school diploma, 3 current letters of recommendation (including a letter from the residency program director), USMLE 1 and 2 (CK/CS) and 3 scores, and other qualifying information for candidacy to:

    George A. Small, MD, Program Director   

    Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program     

    420 E North Avenue, Suite 206 East Wing     

    Pittsburgh, PA  15212

Interviews are by appointment only.

For questions, contact the program coordinator..

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About Graduate Medical Education

The Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship program is part of the graduate medical education (GME) opportunities offered by the AHN Medical Education Consortium. Learn more about graduate medical education.

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Contact Us

Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program

Michele Cardamone, Program Coordinator

Mailing address:     

    420 East North Avenue, Suite 206 East Wing     

    Pittsburgh, PA  15212

Phone: (412) 359-6527

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Curriculum

The program's clinical facilities and fellow responsibilities include the following:

• Electrophysiology (EP) Laboratory - More than 1800 EEGs are performed at AGH each year, including inpatient and outpatient tests.  The fellow is responsible for reviewing these EEGs and their interpretation, under supervision by our fellowship-trained experts James Valeriano, MD, and Kevin Kelly, MD, PhD.  The lab also performs 24-hour ambulatory EEGs.
• Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) - The fellow will gain experience in the placement of sphenoidal electrodes and interpreting video-EEGs used to assess candidates for epilepsy surgery.  The fellow will round on patients in the EMU on a daily basis, reviewing video-EEG records, and will participate in the epilepsy case conference in which surgical candidates are discussed.
• Epilepsy Clinic - The fellow will attend epilepsy clinic to gain clinical experience in managing patients with epilepsy.  Patients seen in the clinic include those who are postoperative epilepsy surgery; those on various medical regimens, including those in drug studies; and patients with vagus nerve stimulators.
• Electromyography (EMG)/Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) Laboratory - More than 1300 EMG/NCV studies are performed yearly in this lab under the direction of George Small, MD, and Sandeep Rana, MD.  The fellow will progress rapidly to design, perform, and interpret these studies. 
• ALS, Neuromuscular, and Botox clinics - AGH has a large population of patients with motor neuron disease, myasthenia gravis, or peripheral neuropathy, and Dr. Rana's amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) clinic is the region's largest.  The fellow's experience is also strengthened by Dr. Small and Dr. Rana's participation in the Neuropathy Association, the nation's largest resource regarding this condition.
• Autonomic Neurophysiology Laboratory - This lab, opened in 2005, allows the fellow additional experience in diagnosing cardioadrenergic, cardiovagal, and small-fiber pathology using tilt-table testing results, the R-R interval, Valsalva testing, and QSART testing results from patients with unexplained syncope or idiopathic peripheral neuropathy.

Sample Block Schedule

Conferences

EEG and EMG seminars are held weekly to provide didactic instruction for proper performance of these studies and interpretation of results.

The fellow attends epilepsy case conferences to present epilepsy surgery cases and discuss the candidates.

Sample Weekly Schedule

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