- Joined
- Oct 21, 2011
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Kansas University Neurology Program (Kansas City):
DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion of the program based on a two day interview. Feel free to add or dispute comments made on here.
SYNOPSIS: Great place to train. Strong and diverse inpatient experience. One of the best neuromuscular groups in the country. This program is a stable middle sized program in the process of growing. If you love super fast internet, then you may want to give it extra consideration. However, if you have your heart set on neuro-oncology, epilepsy, or a city free of snow, then you may want to look elsewhere.
QUICK POINTS:
Positives:
- Kansas City has/will have Google gigabit internet
- Residents are happy, get along great, and a laid back group
- Program is hospital heavy and clinic light (thought of as a negative by some)
- Program prepares you very well for stroke
- Kansas City is a great city with low (comparatively) cost of living
- Vascular, sleep, movement disorder, and neurophys fellowships available
- Absolutely no malignant staff according to the residents
- Diverse training, residents said they feel well prepared for anything
- Residents have the power to get things changed (and have many times)
- Mature EMR at the hospital
- Neurology clinic in a separate building on the main campus
- Growing at a crazy rate (so fast that staff is having space issues)
Neutral:
- Three hospital sites to drive between, however a very different learning experience at each
- Neuromuscular rules this place
Negatives:
- Epilepsy is still very small
- Absolutely NO neuro-oncology
- No neurology interventionist (a couple radiologists who do it regularly though)
- Cafeteria not great, however a new 24 hour kiosk was just added
- Small book allowance ($250)
- PGY 1s spend 6 months at a site that's an hour away
- Still need 2-3 general neurologist added to the staff (6 month waiting list to see neurology)
LOCATION: About 2 million in the metropolitan area with a mixed economic base. Affordable housing close to the hospital and farther away. Some residents lived blocks away others outside the city with only a 20 minute commute. Everyone described Kansas City as a great place to live and a few said that it's got all the big city feel without all the big city hassle.
TRAINING: The KU neurology residency seems like an incredible place to train. Each faculty member and resident stated that the program provides a diverse training experience. One resident stated that he is not just comfortable with the bread and butter but has seen a handful of all the zebras as well. The residency has been continuously fully accredited since the 1950s and is planning on trying to expand to a 24 resident complement by next year (6 per year). They have 2 pediatric neurology fellows a year and have fellowships in clinical neurophysiology, vascular, neuromuscular, and sleep. The training is across 6 different hospitals. While the residents admit that this can be a little bit of a pain, they have actually requested that each of these sites remain a part of the rotation schedule due to the different patient population that is seen at each one. Each site provides a different learning experience. They now have nearly 30 faculty members. Dr. Barohn, the program chairman, has built an incredible program. When he started as chairman, the program had only 4-5 full-time staff. Now they have no place to even put people - seems like a good problem to have. And they are still actively recruiting.
STRUCTURE:
PGY1 - Categorical year split 6 months at Topeka VA on the hospitalist service. No call at this time, however the site is an hour drive away. And 6 months a UKMC on specialty services (ICU, rheumatology, GI, etc).
PGY2 - 8 months neurology inpatient, 3 months neurology clinic, 1 month pathology/radiology.
PGY3 - 3 months consults, 1 month each of VA, NICU, neuromuscular, epilepsy, & 3 months electives.
PGY4 - 3 months child neurology, 2 months consults, 1 month each NICU and psych, and 5 months electives.
Electives:
Specialty clinic / service
MS, movement disorders
Neuro-ophthalmology
Sleep disorders
EMG
EEG
Movement disorders
Subspecialty clinics (as arranged by the resident)
Private practice neurology
Research
Faculty mentor
Research plan and product
KU Training Summary:
Clinical adult neurology - 22 months (including 2 months of NICU)
Child neurology - 3 months
Neuropathology/neuroradiology - 1 month
Psychiatry - 1 month
Neuromuscular and Epilepsy (1 month each)
Elective - 7 months
Call:
KUMC Frequency:
PG2 4-5 times per month
PG3 4 times per month
PG4 3 times per month
All call at the University of Kansas Hospital is in-house
KCVAMC home call - every other week
TMC home call - every third weekend from 0800-1700
CMH home call every third night
Longitudinal Clinics:
½ Day each week for all three years
Faculty supervision changes for each level
Typical work load
PGY2: (first six months) 1 new, 2 returns
PGY3 and 4: 2 new, 3 follow ups
KU Hospital patients assigned to clinics
Referrals from KUMC and outside clinicians
SUPPORT: The residents could not speak highly enough about Dr. Dubinsky the current program director. When residents are concerned about something, Dr. Dubinsky handles it straight away or gives the residents a straight and honest answer about why the change can't be made. The residents love this and feel very supported by the program. However, the neurology program seems to get overlooked by the hospital - no call rooms were added to the newest addition for neurology, also currently they have so much staff that space has become an issue at the clinic. However this is supposedly changing as the hospital has noticed the extreme growth in the neuroscience department and the huge demand for neurology services.
RESEARCH: The research is there if you want it. Requirements for the residency program are very light however if you seek it out, the opportunities seem endless. The Hoglund brain imaging center houses a 9T MRI for research. Clinical research areas are strong in neuromuscular, movement disorders, neurobehavioral, MS, HA, neuroepidemiology, and TBI. Basic science research includes stroke recovery, mitochondrial function in neurodegeneration, spinal cord injury, motor control physiology, MR of peripheral nerves, and MEG. Dr. Barohn brought in a $20 million grant for Clinical and Translational studies and other staff brought in a $6.2 million grand for the Alzheimer's Disease Center.
DISCLAIMER: This is just my opinion of the program based on a two day interview. Feel free to add or dispute comments made on here.
SYNOPSIS: Great place to train. Strong and diverse inpatient experience. One of the best neuromuscular groups in the country. This program is a stable middle sized program in the process of growing. If you love super fast internet, then you may want to give it extra consideration. However, if you have your heart set on neuro-oncology, epilepsy, or a city free of snow, then you may want to look elsewhere.
QUICK POINTS:
Positives:
- Kansas City has/will have Google gigabit internet
- Residents are happy, get along great, and a laid back group
- Program is hospital heavy and clinic light (thought of as a negative by some)
- Program prepares you very well for stroke
- Kansas City is a great city with low (comparatively) cost of living
- Vascular, sleep, movement disorder, and neurophys fellowships available
- Absolutely no malignant staff according to the residents
- Diverse training, residents said they feel well prepared for anything
- Residents have the power to get things changed (and have many times)
- Mature EMR at the hospital
- Neurology clinic in a separate building on the main campus
- Growing at a crazy rate (so fast that staff is having space issues)
Neutral:
- Three hospital sites to drive between, however a very different learning experience at each
- Neuromuscular rules this place
Negatives:
- Epilepsy is still very small
- Absolutely NO neuro-oncology
- No neurology interventionist (a couple radiologists who do it regularly though)
- Cafeteria not great, however a new 24 hour kiosk was just added
- Small book allowance ($250)
- PGY 1s spend 6 months at a site that's an hour away
- Still need 2-3 general neurologist added to the staff (6 month waiting list to see neurology)
LOCATION: About 2 million in the metropolitan area with a mixed economic base. Affordable housing close to the hospital and farther away. Some residents lived blocks away others outside the city with only a 20 minute commute. Everyone described Kansas City as a great place to live and a few said that it's got all the big city feel without all the big city hassle.
TRAINING: The KU neurology residency seems like an incredible place to train. Each faculty member and resident stated that the program provides a diverse training experience. One resident stated that he is not just comfortable with the bread and butter but has seen a handful of all the zebras as well. The residency has been continuously fully accredited since the 1950s and is planning on trying to expand to a 24 resident complement by next year (6 per year). They have 2 pediatric neurology fellows a year and have fellowships in clinical neurophysiology, vascular, neuromuscular, and sleep. The training is across 6 different hospitals. While the residents admit that this can be a little bit of a pain, they have actually requested that each of these sites remain a part of the rotation schedule due to the different patient population that is seen at each one. Each site provides a different learning experience. They now have nearly 30 faculty members. Dr. Barohn, the program chairman, has built an incredible program. When he started as chairman, the program had only 4-5 full-time staff. Now they have no place to even put people - seems like a good problem to have. And they are still actively recruiting.
STRUCTURE:
PGY1 - Categorical year split 6 months at Topeka VA on the hospitalist service. No call at this time, however the site is an hour drive away. And 6 months a UKMC on specialty services (ICU, rheumatology, GI, etc).
PGY2 - 8 months neurology inpatient, 3 months neurology clinic, 1 month pathology/radiology.
PGY3 - 3 months consults, 1 month each of VA, NICU, neuromuscular, epilepsy, & 3 months electives.
PGY4 - 3 months child neurology, 2 months consults, 1 month each NICU and psych, and 5 months electives.
Electives:
Specialty clinic / service
MS, movement disorders
Neuro-ophthalmology
Sleep disorders
EMG
EEG
Movement disorders
Subspecialty clinics (as arranged by the resident)
Private practice neurology
Research
Faculty mentor
Research plan and product
KU Training Summary:
Clinical adult neurology - 22 months (including 2 months of NICU)
Child neurology - 3 months
Neuropathology/neuroradiology - 1 month
Psychiatry - 1 month
Neuromuscular and Epilepsy (1 month each)
Elective - 7 months
Call:
KUMC Frequency:
PG2 4-5 times per month
PG3 4 times per month
PG4 3 times per month
All call at the University of Kansas Hospital is in-house
KCVAMC home call - every other week
TMC home call - every third weekend from 0800-1700
CMH home call every third night
Longitudinal Clinics:
½ Day each week for all three years
Faculty supervision changes for each level
Typical work load
PGY2: (first six months) 1 new, 2 returns
PGY3 and 4: 2 new, 3 follow ups
KU Hospital patients assigned to clinics
Referrals from KUMC and outside clinicians
SUPPORT: The residents could not speak highly enough about Dr. Dubinsky the current program director. When residents are concerned about something, Dr. Dubinsky handles it straight away or gives the residents a straight and honest answer about why the change can't be made. The residents love this and feel very supported by the program. However, the neurology program seems to get overlooked by the hospital - no call rooms were added to the newest addition for neurology, also currently they have so much staff that space has become an issue at the clinic. However this is supposedly changing as the hospital has noticed the extreme growth in the neuroscience department and the huge demand for neurology services.
RESEARCH: The research is there if you want it. Requirements for the residency program are very light however if you seek it out, the opportunities seem endless. The Hoglund brain imaging center houses a 9T MRI for research. Clinical research areas are strong in neuromuscular, movement disorders, neurobehavioral, MS, HA, neuroepidemiology, and TBI. Basic science research includes stroke recovery, mitochondrial function in neurodegeneration, spinal cord injury, motor control physiology, MR of peripheral nerves, and MEG. Dr. Barohn brought in a $20 million grant for Clinical and Translational studies and other staff brought in a $6.2 million grand for the Alzheimer's Disease Center.
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