Vascular Neurology Fellowship

Vascular Neurology Fellowship

Program Leadership and Committee Structure

Program Director

The Fellowship Program Director is appointed by the department chair. The program director is responsible for the supervision of the fellows’ education and training and chairs the Recruitment and Clinical Competency Committees and also functions as a liaison between the faculty and the fellows. The program director serves as a readily available resource for any fellow encountering a professional or personal problem.

Jamie Elliott is the program director of the fellowship and Luke Bradbury is the assistant program director.  They both have active Wisconsin medical licenses, active medical staff appointments at the UWHC and VAH, formal training and active certifications in neurology and vascular neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, specialty and subspecialty expertise with more than 50% of their practice in vascular neurology, and documented educational and administrative experience.

Jamie Elliott and Luke Bradbury administer and maintain an educational environment conducive to educating the fellows in each of the ACGME competency areas, including their responsibilities to:

  • Prepare and submit all information required and requested by the ACGME
  • Ensure compliance with ACGME and Review Committee policies and procedures as outlined in the ACGME Manual of Policies and Procedures
  • Obtain review and approval of the sponsoring institution’s GMEC/DIO before submitting to the ACGME information or requests for the following:
    • all applications for ACGME accreditation of new programs
    • changes in fellow complement
    • major changes in program structure or length of training
    • progress reports requested by the Review Committee
    • responses to all proposed adverse actions
    • requests for increases or any change to fellow duty hours
    • voluntary withdrawals of ACGME-accredited programs
    • requests for appeal of an adverse action
    • appeal presentations to a Board of Appeal or the ACGME
  • Obtain DIO review and co-signature on all program information forms, as well as any correspondence or document submitted to the ACGME that addresses:
    • program citations
    • request for changes in the program that would have significant impact, including financial, on the program or institution

Program Faculty

All the vascular neurology faculty members practice at both sites (UW and VA), are full time members of the UW Department of Neurology, and have documented qualifications to instruct and supervise all fellows. The faculty members devote sufficient time to the educational program to fulfill their supervisory and teaching responsibilities and demonstrate a strong interest in the education of fellows. The physician faculty members all have current certifications in neurology and vascular neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. The faculty members have diverse interests and skills in an appropriate range of teaching and research, ensure adequate clinical opportunities for fellows, provide continued instruction through seminars, conferences, and teaching rounds, and have demonstrated competence in both clinical care and teaching abilities.

The physician faculty possess current medical licensure and appropriate medical staff appointments. The faculty members establish and maintain an environment of inquiry and scholarship with an active research component. The faculty members regularly participate in organized clinical discussions, rounds, journal clubs, and conferences. Some members of the faculty also demonstrate scholarship by peer-reviewed funding, publication of original research or review articles in peer-reviewed journals, or chapters in textbooks, publication or presentation of case reports or clinical series at local, regional, or national professional and scientific society meetings, or participation in national committees or educational organizations. The faculty members encourage and support residents and fellows in scholarly activities.

Program Coordinator

The fellowship program coordinator is a staff administrator who assists the program director in the day-to-day and long-range operations of the fellowship program. A small sample of the specific duties include: submitting time sheets to the GME office, communicating with fellows and faculty (by phone, e-mail or memo) regarding clinical assignments, organizing educational conferences, proctoring in-service examinations, managing fellow orientation, and assisting with fellow recruitment.

Recruitment Committee

This committee is composed of the vascular neurology faculty members and is tasked with ordering the rank list after the interview process has been completed.  The vascular neurology fellowship program director chairs the committee.

Clinical Competency Committee (CCC)

The main purpose of the CCC is to review fellow performance and ensure that each fellow is progressing in the program and on track to sit for the vascular neurology boards. See the section Fellow Evaluation below. Twice each year, the CCC evaluates each fellow with respect to the six core competencies defined by the ACGME: Patient care, medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, and professionalism. In addition, fellows are expected to achieve specific milestones developed, in the case of neurology, in a joint venture between the ACGME and the ABPN. The CCC’s mission includes the assessment of each fellow’s progress toward these milestones.

The CCC reviews in-service exams, evaluations submitted by faculty and ancillary staff, patient feedback, mentor comments, conference attendance, and duty hours.

The CCC will also consider issues that affect fellow performance, such as fatigue, stress, affective disturbance, and substance abuse.

After considering all of the above, the CCC will determine if the fellow will be promoted to graduate, or whether he/she requires remediation, non-promotion, or dismissal. Adverse actions taken by the CCC will comply with both departmental and UWHC policies regarding such. See the Grievance Policy and UWHC policies Evaluation, Discipline, Promotion, Non-Renewal or Dismissal of Residents and Appeals of Resident Evaluation, Discipline, Non-Renewal or Dismissal Decisions.

The CCC is chaired by the program director; the other members are key faculty who are involved in fellow education and is appointed by the program director.

Program Evaluation Committee

 This committee is responsible for monitoring and addressing a variety of matters related to overall quality of the fellowship program. These include:

  • Curricular goals and objectives
  • Aggregate fellow performance
  • Faculty development
  • Graduate performance (e.g. board pass rates)
  • Compliance with ACGME standards
  • Conducting an annual program evaluation
  • Developing an annual program improvement plan

The committee is chaired by the program director and other members include the fellow, the program coordinator, the department chair, and various stroke faculty in the department. The members of the committee are appointed by the program director.

Each year, both fellows and faculty are electronically surveyed regarding their assessments of the fellowship program. These are confidential (i.e. the faculty will not know which resident and fellow provided which assessment). In addition, the residents and fellows as a group meet on an annual basis to review the program, leading to a report written by the chief resident. The Program Evaluation Committee then conducts its annual program evaluation, reviewing:

  • The prior year’s improvement plan
  • Internal resident / fellow and faculty surveys
  • Fellow milestones and in-service exams
  • Performance of program graduates on the board certification examination
  • Minutes from the core program’s most recent meeting with UW’s GME Office
  • ACGME fellow and faculty surveys
  • Other communications from the ACGME

The committee prepares an annual improvement plan of action, which is shared with the teaching faculty at the next faculty meeting.

Grievance Committee

 This is an ad hoc committee created for those rare circumstances when a grievance is filed by a fellow per the Grievance Policy.

Resources

The institution and the program jointly ensure the availability of adequate resources for fellow education, including a patient population that reflects the full spectrum of vascular neurological disorders across the lifespan, as well as multiple clinical settings (outpatient, inpatient, emergency, and intensive care). There are a sufficient number and variety of patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings to expose fellows to the broad spectrum of vascular diseases of the brain. The inpatient experience includes evaluation of a substantial number of stroke patients, of which no more than 50% are hemorrhagic. The outpatient experience includes management of at least 50 patients for whom the fellow is the primary physician under supervision of a faculty member. In the program, there are adequate inpatient and outpatient facilities, examining areas, conference rooms, research laboratories, and office space for faculty and fellows, as well as adequate diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Latest revision: 08/07/2023
Jamie Elliott, MD, PhD