Child Neurology Residency Curriculum

The PGY-3 year emphasizes adult neurology and is organized as follows:

1. Six months of inpatient rotations (i.e., >50% of time spent managing patients admitted to an inpatient service)
   • Inpatient General Neurology Service, MUSC Medical Center (1 to 1-1/2 months)
   • Inpatient Stroke Service, MUSC Medical Center (1 to 1-1/2 months)
   • Adult Consultation Service, MUSC Medical Center (1 month)
   • Neurocritical Care Service, MUSC Medical Center (1 month)
   • Neurology Night Float (1-1/2 months)
2. Three months of outpatient clinical adult neurology (>50% of time spent in an outpatient setting)
   • Adult Neuromuscular Service, MUSC Medical Center (1 month)
   • Other outpatient clinical adult neurology experience (2 months)
3. Three months of elective experiences in clinical adult neurology or subspecialty areas of neurology (e.g., neuroradiology, neurophysiology). The resident can elect to use a portion of this elective time for research.

Please see the Adult Neurology residency page for more information regarding the rotations outlined above.

The PGY-4 year emphasizes clinical training in child neurology. The resident spends four months on the Inpatient Pediatric Neurology service, performing consultations and caring for patients in the emergency room and throughout Children’s Hospital, and another four months in the Pediatric Neurology outpatient clinics. 

The outpatient rotations include experience in general Pediatric Neurology clinics, as well as subspecialty clinics for children with epilepsy, headache, movement disorders, neuromuscular disease, brachial plexus injuries, brain tumors, spasticity, and autism. Residents also gain experience with a number of outpatient procedures, including performing intrathecal baclofen trials, refilling and programming baclofen pumps, administering botulinum toxin, and programming vagal nerve stimulators. 

The remainder of the year is spent on the Pediatric Epilepsy service (1 month); Neurophysiology (2 months); and Neuroradiology (1 month). On the Pediatric Epilepsy service, the resident participates in the care of pediatric patients who are admitted to the Epilepsy Monitoring Service for long-term video EEG monitoring and attends outpatient Pediatric Epilepsy clinics. The Neurophysiology rotation can be devoted to EEG, nerve conduction studies/EMG, or some combination of the two. If the Neurophysiology and Neuroradiology rotations have been completed during the PGY-3 year, then any remaining time can be used for clinical electives (adult or child neurology), Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or Developmental Pediatrics.

During the PGY5 year, the resident spends two months on the Inpatient Pediatric Neurology service and two months in the Pediatric Neurology outpatient clinics. The resident is also required to complete month-long rotations in Neuropathology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Developmental Pediatrics (if not already completed). The remaining five months are elective time. Potential electives include:

• Child Abuse Pediatrics
• Behavioral & Memory Disorders Clinic
• Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
• Developmental Pediatrics
• EEG/Epilepsy (Adult and/or Pediatric)
• EMG/Neuromuscular
• Genetics
• Headache/Neuro-ophthalmology/Neuroimmunology
• Movement Disorders (Adult/Pediatric)
• Neurocritical Care
• Neuro-oncology (Adult/Pediatric)
• Neuropathology
• Neuroradiology
• Pediatric Sleep Disorders
• Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound

Other electives are possible, subject to the Program Director’s approval. The resident may also decide to dedicate a portion of this time to research or other career development activities.

The pediatric neurology resident continuity clinic is held one half-day per week and is continuous throughout the three years of training.  Three residents are assigned to each clinic (one from each training year).  All of the patients are children, and residents have continuity with both new and follow-up patients.  Residents typically see 4-6 patients per clinic session and handle all outpatient calls on their own patients during office hours with the assistance of the nursing staff.  The clinic is staffed by the pediatric neurology attendings on a rotating basis.

Block Rotations - Program Year 1

July – MUH Neuro Ward
August – N-MUSC
September – Adult Neuro Outpatient Elective
October – EMG 1 | Night Float
November – Stroke
December – EEG
January – Adult Neuro Outpatient Elective
February – MUH Neuro Wards | Night Float
March – NRads
April – Neuro ICU
May – Adult Neuro Elective | Night Float
June – Neuro Consults

Block Rotations - Program Year 2

July – Peds Inpatient
August – Peds Outpatient
September – Elective
October – Elective
November – Peds Inpatient
December – Peds Epilepsy
January – Peds Outpatient
February – Peds Inpatient
March – Peds Outpatient
April – Elective
May – Peds Inpatient
June – Peds Outpatient

Block Rotations - Program Year 3

July – Elective
August – Elective
September – Peds Inpatient
October – Peds Outpatient
November – Child Psych
December – Peds Inpatient
January – Elective
February – NPath
March – Elective
April – Peds Outpatient
May – Developmental Peds
June – Elective