Curriculum | Child Neurology Residency | UC Davis Health

Academic Year At-A-Glance

PGY-1 and PGY-2 years in Pediatrics 

• There will be an X+Y (4+2) curriculum
• A minimum of 36 half-day continuity clinics annually will be concentrated during Y weeks

Summary of Rotations for PGY-3 to PGY-5:

• 12 months of Adult Neurology (meeting ACGME requirements)
  • 6 inpatient months – 3 general, 2 vascular, 1 night float (2 x 2 weeks blocks)
  • 3 months outpatient adult clinics: Includes General Neurology, Subspecialty Clinics (Movement Disorder, Neuroimmunology, Neuromuscular), Epilepsy
  • 3 months of adult neurology electives. Options include: Neuroradiology, Neuropathology, Neuromuscular (EMG/NCS), Clinical Neurophysiology, Epilepsy, Neuro-Oncology, Neurocritical Care
• 24 months of Child Neurology
  • Inpatient child neurology: includes pediatric neurology consultation service and pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit
  • A minimum of 5 months of child neurology clinics: includes general child neurology, neuromuscular, epilepsy, neuro-immunology, with additional opportunities available
  • A minimum of 4 months of child neurology electives. Options include: Epilepsy, Neuro-immunology, Neonatal Neurology, Genomic Medicine, Developmental Pediatrics, PM&R, Neuroradiology, Neuro-Oncology, Neuro-Ophthalmology
  • 1 month Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • 2 months Pediatric Clinical Neurophysiology (EEG and/or EMG)
• Child Neurology Continuity clinic is a longitudinal experience, with one half-day of resident continuity clinic weekly, PGY-3 through PGY-5.
• The PGY-3 year is weighted towards Adult Neurology (including all inpatient rotations), but also includes a minimum of 3 Child Neurology blocks
• Vacation is 4 weeks per year, scheduled across the year
• Call: Adult neurology call is through a night float/shift system. Child neurology call is home call during select blocks. Home call is never more frequent than every fourth night.

Conference and Didactics

Residents will have graduated autonomy to educate patients and their families about the diagnosis, work-up, and plan, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. They will be encouraged to lead family meetings for patients with complex medical issues in the critical care setting, after observing and participating in meetings with the attending physician.  

Residents will educate students, co-residents, rotating residents, and other health professionals while completing consultations and rounding, in discussion of clinical cases. They will observe medical students in history gathering and examination, and provide real-time feedback. The residents will look up primary literature and reviews to teach the inpatient consult team and primary services. They will present at journal club conferences and morning reports. They will also offer the clinical perspective of child neurology at clinical genomics conferences. Conferences:

• Cerebrovascular Conference
• Clinical Genomic Conference (Neurogenetics)
• Clinicopathology Conference
• Child Neurology Journal Club
• Epilepsy Journal Club  
• Morbidity and Mortality Conference  
• Pediatric Neuroradiology Conference 

Lecture Series topics: Protected didactic time ½-day per week. Attendance is required except when on night float or vacation.  

• Advances in Antiseizure Medications
• Altered Mental Status  
• Autoimmune Encephalitis  
• Childhood Stroke and Other Cerebrovascular Diseases  
• Cognitive and Behavioral Development
• Elevated ICP Management  
• Epilepsy Surgical Interventions  
• Ketogenic Diet  
• Management of Status Epilepticus 
• Movement Disorders in Children  
• Muscular Dystrophy  
• Myotonic Dystrophy  
• Neonatal Encephalopathy and Therapeutic Hypothermia  
• Neurogenetics  
• Neuroimaging Modalities  
• Neuromodulatory  
• Neuro-Oncology 
• Neuro Ophthalmology 
• Neuro-Otology  
• Pain Management and Addiction Prevention  
• Parkinson’s Disease, Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis  
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy  
• Traumatic Brain Injury  
• Treatments for Epilepsy