Letter from the Chair
Thank you for your interest in the Neurology Residency Training Program at the University of Wisconsin. Our program seeks physicians in training who are dedicated to the care of people with diseases of the nervous system, have demonstrated interest in clinical and basic neuroscience, and show promise of future achievement. For more than 60 years the Department has been dedicated to training highly motivated physicians in an atmosphere that emphasizes teamwork, close interaction with attending physicians and resident colleagues, independence, and development of sophisticated skills in history taking and neurological examination.
The residency program is a major focus of effort for our faculty and is closely integrated with our clinical services and clinical research programs. The current structure and organization of the training program was developed in 2003 and was designed to address several important needs which were identified by the faculty as challenges for neurology training in the contemporary environment. These challenges include the increasing trend toward therapeutic subspecialty care for neurological disorders, the importance of learning in the continuity of patient care across inpatient and outpatient settings, and the value of placing resident trainees in close working relationships with teaching faculty in their areas of major expertise. These are not easy challenges to address, especially with the emphasis on short admissions and increasing outpatient care for neurological disorders, as well as the constraint of the 80 hour work week for resident trainees.
The training program organization that emerged from our efforts to address these challenges has remained in place with minor refinements during the last few years, and includes five major combined inpatient-outpatient services in epilepsy, neuromuscular diseases, pediatric neurology, stroke, and general neurology. Residents on these services provide care for both inpatients and outpatients and work closely with faculty subspecialists in each of the areas. The epilepsy and neuromuscular services also include clinical neurophysiology experience in EEG and EMG as a part of patient care in those areas. The residents on the general neurology service also care for inpatients and outpatients through coverage of the emergency room during the day and a night float resident.
With a rich program of noontime didactic and case conferences, weekly bedside teaching rounds, neuroimaging and subspecialty case conferences, and exposure to the breadth and depth of clinical and basic neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin, our residency training program has been an interactive and interdisciplinary experience for both our trainees and faculty. We appreciate your interest and if you visit, look forward to introducing you in more detail to the program and the Department.
Sincerely,
Kathleen M. Shannon, MD
Chair and Detling Professor of Neurology
Letter from the Program Director
Welcome to the University of Wisconsin Department of Neurology! We are a comprehensive residency training program designed to provide you the skills to become an exceptionally well-trained and compassionate physician. A full-time and dedicated faculty is here to help you begin your journey as a neurologist-in-training.
We offer categorical training for 7 residents per class. Our training institutions include the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UW Health), the William S. Middleton Veterans Administration Hospital (VA), and the American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH). The Ebling Medical Library at the Health Sciences Learning Center is the centerpiece of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Our main hospital locations are modern, very well-equipped, and physically connected to each other (that is, our residents do not need to commute to different hospitals when on call or covering inpatient services).
In the pages below, you’ll find a comprehensive set of program aims, policies and procedures, rotation-specific goals and objectives, assessment tools, and program outcome data. For incoming and current residents, these materials are required reading and serve as a reference for future use. For prospective residents, it is our intention to showcase our outstanding program as transparently as possible.
Madison (population 255,000) is a wonderful place to live, and offers all amenities that one would find in a much larger city. The University of Wisconsin is one of the top universities in the country, and is adjacent to the medical center. We believe that your time spent here in residency training will be highly enjoyable. If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to contact me or our program manager, Sara Nagel.
Sincerely
Natalie C. Wheeler, MD JD
Assistant Professor
Residency Program Director
Department of Neurology
University of Wisconsin – Madison
UWHealth Comprehensive Stroke Program
nwheeler@neurology.wisc.edu