Welcome | Program Overview | Academic Schedule | Resident Conferences | Current Resident Accomplishments | Graduates | Eligibility Criteria | Application Process | Interview Process | National Resident Matching Program | Common Questions | Photos

Welcome!

The Department of Neurology at Beth Israel has a long established history as a training site for both medical students and neurology residents from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in addition to training movement disorder fellows. In 2006, our department established an independent residency program with a mission to provide our residents with a strong foundation in neurology and its sub-specialties as well as to teach skills to foster lifetime learning.

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Program Overview

Residents spend most of their time at Beth Israel and Phillips Ambulatory Care Center in the East Village. Roosevelt Hospital is our other training facility and is available for electives in Neuro-oncology, Neuroradiology, Interventional Radiology, Endovascular Neurology, and Headache. Some features of the program include:

• Certified NIH stroke center
• Stroke and epilepsy monitoring units
• Extensive outpatient exposure including full time outpatient rotations, weekly general neurology continuity clinic, and specialized clinics in ALS, Epilepsy, Neuro-ophthalmology and Movement Disorders
• Research rotation with mentorship
• Blocked educational time
• Paid AAN membership and RITE exam testing
• Paid attendance to many local and national meetings

The Neurology Residency program offers a well-rounded curriculum, emphasizing patient care in both inpatient and outpatient settings, teaching and research opportunities, and self-learning activities.

Inpatient Experience
On the inpatient service, first-year residents are exposed to a large, demographically diverse patient population, and participate in the care of a broad range of neurological conditions such as epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, movement and neuromuscular disorders. Residents participate in the care of all admissions on the neurology floor. In the PGY4 year, residents participate in "chief" months during which they assist the attending in running the inpatient service.

Complementing the neurology inpatient service is the neurology consult team. The consult service exposes residents to an even wider patient variety, with consultation requests coming from the emergency room, medical and surgical intensive care units, as well as other inpatient services. Residents in each training year display increased independence while on the service.

Outpatient Experience
The overall goal of the residents' outpatient training is to learn the discipline required in running a successful neurological practice as well as to provide exposure to the subspecialties in preparation for fellowship training. Central to the resident's outpatient experience is the continuity clinic, located in Beth Israel's Phillips Ambulatory Care Center (PACC). PACC houses state-of-the-art medical facilities as well as the majority of the Medical Center's outpatient offices. Each resident spends one half day a week in continuity clinic. Every effort is made to provide continuity of care. Residents have additional elective time in several outpatient subspecialties in their PGY3 and PGY4 years.

Teaching and Research Opportunities
The teaching environment is a top priority of our program. It is extremely important to us that our residents have ample teaching opportunities in a warm and collegiate environment. Residents teach the house staff in internal medicine and psychiatry who rotate through the department, medical students, and one another (particularly their junior peers). Educational time extends from work rounds into resident conferences. Conference time takes precedence over work responsibilities.

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Academic Schedule

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Resident Conferences

Residents have weekly and monthly conferences. Of note, dedicated protected time is instituted Fridays from 11 AM-3 PM while coverage is provided on the inpatient and consult services.

1. Weekly Conferences
1. Board Review
2. Case Conference
3. Didactic Lecture Series
4. Grand Rounds


2. Bi-Monthly Conferences
1. Chief rounds (with PGY2s)
2. Epilepsy/EEG Conference
3. Neuro-anatomy/Neurophysiology Review
4. Chairman's Rounds
5. Neuro-radiology Conference


3. Monthly Conferences
1. Journal Club
2. Morbidity and Mortality
3. Movement Disorder Rounds / Video Review
4. Neuromuscular Conference
5. Neurovascular Conference
6. Research


4. Periodic Conferences
1. Emergency Neurology Lecture Series
2. Ethics Sessions
3. Pain/Palliative

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Resident Activities And Accomplishments
(July 2011 - June 2012)

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Recent Graduates

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Eligibility Criteria

The applicant is expected to have completed their medical school training by June 2012. If the applicant is a foreign graduate, he/she must have appropriate ECFMG certification. Although applicants need not have ECFMG certification at the time of application, this needs to be completed before the ranking process. J1 visas are accepted. Sponsorship of H1-B visas are done on a case-to-case basis.

Residents must satisfactorily complete the first year (PGY 1) of an ACGME approved training program in internal medicine, preferably at Beth Israel Medical Center, or the equivalent training (with no less than eight months of internal medicine). Resident applicants must provide verification of successful completion of their PGY 1 year from the program director of that training program. Applicants must complete the Graduate Medical Education office credentialing process as well.

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Application Process

Applications and supporting materials are accepted only through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Application requirements:

• CV
• At least 3 letters of recommendation
• Dean's Letter
• Transcript
• USMLE score reports (three digit scores >= 200 preferred)*
• Personal Statement
• Foreign Medical Graduates should have clinical experience in the United States (i.e. observerships, clinical rotations, etc.) in the past five years and should not be more than five years from graduating medical school

*Please note, residents must pass Step 2 by the end of their PGY1 year in order to start the program July 1st as a PGY2.

Residents interested in the preliminary year at Beth Israel must apply for this separately through ERAS as Prelim/Neuro. The Prelim/Neuro positions are intended solely for applicants matching at the BI Neurology program.

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Interview Process

Applicants are interviewed on various Fridays from October through January. We plan for eight interview dates with a variable number of applicants. Interviewers complete evaluation forms for each candidate. Interview evaluation scores are taken into account for determination of the rank order list (ROL).

The majority of applicants who have applied to the Preliminary Year/Neurology program will be interviewed for this program on the same day as the Neurology interviews. Applicants offered an interview for the Neurology program will be asked in advance if they have applied to the preliminary year.

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National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)

The Neurology residency program participates in the National Resident Matching Program. Matched applicants are sent letters of intent which they are asked to sign and return to the program. House Officer contracts are offered by April 1st.

Please visit the American Medical Association FRIEDA database for frequently asked questions about the program and the application process.

Please also direct any questions to the Neurology Residency and Fellowship Coordinator, Jean Peng. She can be reached at jpeng@chpnet.org, 212-844-6897.

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Common Questions

When are interviews offered?

Interviews take place between October and January. Offers begin in late September/early October.

Do you offer a PGY1 year?

We are a three year (PGY2-PGY4) neurology residency program. However, we encourage all of our applicants to apply to the Beth Israel Preliminary/Neurology program through ERAS. This program preferences our applicants for a preliminary year in internal medicine at Beth Israel. When possible, preliminary interviews will occur on the same day as the residency interviews.

Can I have a second look at the program after interviewing?

We encourage all interested parties to come back for a second look. Our coordinator will arrange for this with you on your interview day.

What is the program's board pass rate?

Last year, our board pass rate was 100%. As a whole, our residents have excelled on the RITE examination, performing in the top tiers of residents nationwide when compared to their given year of training.

How many calls will I have? What system is in place for calls if a resident is on maternity, out sick, or leaves the program?

The average resident has 3-5 calls a month. Preference is made to the PGY4 class who have no Saturday or Sunday responsibilities, except when serving as inpatient chief. We ensure that our residents maintain appropriate duty hours. When we have residents out sick or on maternity leave, we have utilized moonlighters to help with coverage.

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Beth israel Department of Neurology

Photos

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