Neurology Residency FAQ

ANSWERS TO THE MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ABOUT OUR RESIDENCY PROGRAM AT

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

WHAT IS THE CALL SCHEDULE REALLY LIKE?

For the first 24 months of your residency you will be on call regularly every 4th or 5th night in the PGY1 and every 4th to 6th night in the PGY2 year.  For the PGY3 and PGY4 years, you are on call with a junior resident or rotating resident.  Residents from other programs such as OU Psychiatry and Griffin Memorial Hospital also take call with us while they are rotating through neurology.  During the Christmas holidays, our campus closes for 10-12 days.  We try to allow each resident a limited amount of time off during this time that does not count against your paid leave time.

WHERE IS CALL?

Call is "in‑house" meaning you stay at the hospital during the time on‑call as a junior resident.  Our neurology‑only call-rooms are private, clean, comfortable, and secure, with TV & a bathroom shared with one other call room.  There is one call room at PT and another at the VAMC available for the person on call.

WHEN DOES CALL OCCUR?

Call begins at 4:30 p.m. and lasts until 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays.  Each resident is usually limited to one Saturday and one Sunday call per month. 

WHO MAKES THE CALL SCHEDULE?

The administrative chief‑resident formulates and ensures the fairness of the schedule every month.

WHAT DOES NIGHT CALL COVER?

We cover the emergency room, floor consults, and inpatient neurology wards at PT and the VAMC. We also cover emergency room and floor consults at ET, and CHO. All hospitals are connected with each other by tunnels and enclosed sky bridges.

WHAT DO I DO (WITH CONSULTS AND ADMISSIONS)?

After evaluating the patient, you and your chief resident will make treatment decisions together.   A lot of good teaching occurs at this juncture.  A plan is agreed upon, and orders or recommendations are written.  The following morning, you will only continue taking care of patients you admitted to your own service.  Otherwise, you will fully inform the resident whose service the patient was admitted to.  You must arrange for follow‑up of all consults which are not admitted.  If there is an emergency, the chief resident will decide when to contact the attending to come to the hospital.

WHAT KIND OF "PERKS" CAN I EXPECT?

Currently, our residents receive the following at no charge:

-    Aids to the Examination of Peripheral Nervous System (as you enter your 2^nd year)

-    The Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma (as you enter your 2^nd year)

-    Localization in Clinical Neurology (as you enter your 2^nd year)

-    Principles of Neurology – Adams and Victor’s – Eighth Edition (as you enter your 2^nd year)

-    How Doctors Think (as you enter your 2^nd year)

-    Two lab coats of your choice.

-    $1,000 per year for PGY3 and PGY4 to go to conferences (the Department will pay your way entirely if

    you are presenting a poster or paper).

-    Free subscriptions to numerous neurological journals and publications.

-    Paid membership to the American Academy of Neurology, including a subscription to Neurology, the

    "Green Journal", and CONTINUUM.

-    Personal health insurance (to which family members can be added).

-    All of your malpractice insurance is paid for.

-    Free access to medline from your home personal computer or from our department offices.

-    Unlimited, round‑the‑clock access to our neurology library.

-    An AV department to assist for preparing any presentations, posters, publications, or grand rounds.

-    A text/beeper pager at no cost.

-    Meal-vouchers are given according to number of days on call. Currently, the vouchers are good at ET,

    PT, and CHO cafeterias.  Breakfast and dinner are free at VAMC when you are on call.

-    Free photocopying and fax is available 24 hours a day in the departmental office.

OUTPATIENT CLINICS

Each resident has their own weekly, outpatient VA and OU clinic for all three years.  Each patient is assigned to one resident, providing appropriate longitudinal care and the opportunity to build a physician-patient relationship and see the evolution in time of all types of neurological conditions.  As in private offices, your patients are scheduled by appointment only.  One hour is given to new patients, and 30 minutes to returns. New clinic patients are referred and most are very interesting. Some patients you discharge from the wards must be seen in your own clinic in a timely fashion (this may necessitate an occasional "over‑book" or starting clinic early a few times). Two attendings (usually) are assigned to each clinic for all three years and will be available to discuss patients throughout your assigned clinic time. All patients are seen by attendings, or in the PG4 year they are discussed with attending.

DICTATIONS

At OUMC consult notes, admission H&P, and discharge summaries must be dictated.  At VAMC these may be either typed or dictated.  Letters, EMGs/NCS reports and EEG reports must be dictated.  Other things may be dictated. At the VAMC daily patient notes are directly entered into the computerized record, while at OUMC they are hand-written.

RESEARCH

Residents in our program are not required to carry out a research project but participation in research is strongly encouraged.  A variety of research opportunities are available on our campus and at least one research project per resident is highly encouraged.  Our faculty will be glad to make arrangements for your participation in any of the many basic neuroscience research projects or clinical research projects currently under way.  If you have research projects of your own in mind, we can help you address the issues of funding and publication.

PAID TIME OFF

You receive three weeks of annual vacation (15 weekdays plus weekends). These have to be taken during the current year.  You may take time off during a VA ward month if you give at least two months notice.  Time off must be requested at least 30 days in advance.

Every resident gets a few days off over each Christmas holiday. Exactly which days off will be assigned by the chief resident.

Five days of educational leave are available annually to attend conferences.  This is mostly for PGY3 and PGY4 residents unless otherwise discussed and approved by the Program Director.

You are entitled to 15 days of sick leave.

Maternity/paternity leave is available.

Additional time may be taken off in extenuating circumstances, but without pay, and this extra time-off must be made up at the end of the residency.

SALARY DETAILS

You are paid at the end of each month.  Current annual salary before withholding is as follows:

        PGY‑1 $42,843

        PGY‑2 $44,233

        PGY‑3 $45,894

        PGY‑4 $47,664

Since the cost of living in Oklahoma is much lower than many parts of the nation, this salary tends to be quite adequate.  No one in our program has felt it necessary to moonlight.  Moonlighting is strictly forbidden when on a ward service but may be considered when on electives except for residents on J1 visas.  This must be discussed and cleared in advance with the Program Director. 

DO WE HAVE ANY CONFERENCES/DIDACTICS?   

Do we ever!  In addition to our regular conference schedule, there are several special activities that occur throughout the year.  Some of these include: 

The Tom Parker Memorial Lectureship ‑ Given annually and features such pre-eminent speakers as Nobel Prize Winner Gadjusek (who described Kuru), Lewis Rowland, James Posner, Patricia Duffner, Louis Caplan, and Guy McKhann. 

Annual Update in Neurology ‑ This is an annual CME symposium put on by our Neurology Department for neurologists and other physicians statewide. The symposium is spread over several months with one day each of the designated months.  It is composed of lectures in clinical neurology by our faculty as well as guest lecturers.  Breakfast, snacks, and a full meal is provided. There is no charge to the neurology resident.

New Horizons in Neurology – Each fall our department sponsors a one-day CME course on different sub-specialties of neurology.  One to two well-known outside speakers are invited to present these lectures along with one to two of our faculty.  Breakfast, snacks, and a full meal is provided.  There is no charge to the neurology resident. 

FACULTY:

Currently, there are 21 faculty members in the Department of Neurology, and we are still growing! We have a tremendous amount of personal contact with all faculty members.  When attending on wards, our faculty round every day, at least once a day.  Each resident has one faculty member assigned to his or her University Outpatient Clinic, and they remain with that faculty for all three years.  Another faculty member is similarly assigned at the VA.  They are present during your clinics to answer any questions you might have and to give advice. Should you have a question more appropriate for another faculty with other sub-specialty interests, it is very easy to contact them and ask them curbside questions at any time during the day.  Our entire faculty is friendly and outgoing and interested in the residents.  In alphabetical order, they are:

Dr. Farida Abid is one of our Child Neurologists.  Dr. Abid graduated from Dow Medical College in Pakistan.  She did her Pediatric Residency at UMDNJ in New Jersey followed by a Pediatric Neurology Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.  Dr. Abid's areas of interest are seizure, developmental delay and demyelinating disease.

Dr. Fatima Abrantes-Pais is a graduate of our residency program.  She joined our faculty in July, 2000 after completing a fellowship in neurorehabilitation at The Burke Rehabilitation Hospital.  Dr. Abrantes-Pais is Chief of the Neurorehabilitation Section at our VAMC.

Dr. Kersi Bharucha joined the faculty of neurology in September, 1995 as Assistant Professor.  Dr. Bharucha's training included residency in neurology at Mayo Clinic and fellowship in movement disorders at Medical College of Georgia.  Currently Dr. Bharucha's interests are in the relationship between movement disorders and dementia and also in utilization of botox for treatment of movement disorders.

Dr. James Couch is known for his expertise in headaches.  He was Chair of Neurology and Residency Program Director here at OUHSC from 1992 until 2006, when he chose to step down to focus more on research.  Prior to coming to OUHSC he was the Chairman of the Division of Neurology at Southern Illinois University from 1979 to 1992.  He is a past contributor to Conn's Current Therapy as well as the Washington Manual, and co‑author of the Handbook of Neurorehabilitation.  He is Past President of the American Headache Society. 

Dr. Paul Gill graduated from our program in June 2007.  He now operates as part of our faculty at the OU Physicians – Edmond office.  He handles general neurology patients.

Dr. David Lee Gordon is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology.  He joined us in January 2007.  Dr. Gordon received his medical degree from the University of Miami and completed his medicine internship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt in New York City, his neurology residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, and a stroke fellowship at the University of Iowa. While at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine from 1999 to 2006, he served as Assistant Director of the Center for Research in Medical Education.  Dr. Gordon is an active clinician and educator.  He has been named one of the “Best Doctors in America” on several occasions, serves as a neurology board examiner, has received several teaching awards, has served on multiple national panels and committees, and has written numerous articles and book chapters related to stroke, headache, and medical education.  His current research interests include hypercoagulability and stroke in young adults, optimizing hospital and community systems for stroke care, and curriculum development and the use of simulation in outcomes-based education of health professionals.

Dr. Herman Jones is our neuropsychologist with extra training in neurology. Along with Drs. Wisdom and Couch, he provides an excellent foundation in teaching us higher cortical function and neurorehabilitation.  He also helps the residents in clinical aspects by seeing in consultation those patients with cognitive, memory, and mental health problems.

Elizabeth Harris, PA-C is one of our Physicians Assistants.  She assists our faculty in the outpatient clinic setting.

Dr. Amy Hessler joined our department in August 2007 after completing a one year fellowship in Neurophysiology at the University of Michigan, with an emphasis in EEG/Epilepsy.  Dr. Hessler’s neurology residency training was done at Tufts University in Boston.  Before her career in Neurology, she completed two years of an Internal Medicine residency at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. after graduating from Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Dr. Chaouki Khoury joined the Department of Neurology as Assistant Professor in July 2007.  He had previously been an Intern in the Internal Medicine Department at OU and then a Neurology Resident in our Department. He subsequently completed a Child Neurology Fellowship in Houston before returning to Oklahoma. Prior to his post-graduate training, Dr. Khoury completed a combined M.D. and Masters of Science in Neuroscience degree at the American University of Beirut (Beirut, Lebanon). His Masters work focused on spinal and supraspinal pathways of neuropathic pain.  His current interest is in pediatric headaches, and he started a Pediatric Headache Clinic as soon as he joined our Department. He also has an interest in pediatric demyelinating diseases and pediatric stroke.

Dr. Jeanne Ann King is Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology, having rejoined the faculty in August, 2007, after a nine year absence.  She was previously a full-time faculty member from 1982-1998.  Dr. King  graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in biology in 1974.  She subsequently got her medical degree (1978) and residency training in neurology at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine.  Following completion in 1982, she joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma Department of Neurology and was involved in the creation and development of the Comprehensive Oklahoma Program for Epilepsy (C.O.P.E.) and the Richard E. Carpenter Neuroscience Library.  A special interest is epilepsy in developmental disabilities. 

Dr. Marc Lenaerts is currently our Residency Program Director.  He graduated from our neurology residency training program in August, 2000 and joined our faculty in September, 2000.  Dr. Lenaerts did his medical school training at the University of Liege, Belgium and then he completed a 4-year residency in neurology at University of Liege.  Dr. Lenaerts’ specialty is headache and pain.

Dr. Marilee Monnot is the Director of our Caregiver Section in the Center for Memory Loss and Dementia. She joined our department in July, 2000.  She is a licensed professional counselor.

Dr. Kalarickal J. Oommen is Program Director for the Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program.  He is an epileptologist.  Dr. Oommen joined our staff in 1994 and is proving to be an excellent teacher, ward attending, and EEG instructor. He has developed our Epilepsy Surgery Program including the video-EEG telemetry unit.

Dr. Julie Parke serves as Interim Chair for the Department of Neurology.  Dr. Parke is the Chief of the Section of Child Neurology.  Dr. Parke joined our faculty in December, 1992.  Dr. Parke completed her pediatrics and child neurology residency at Baylor College of Medicine following a fellowship in neuromuscular diseases and electromyography at The Medical College of Wisconsin.  Her special interests in child neurology are epilepsy, migraines, and neuromuscular diseases.

Patricia Perkins, CPNP joined the Neurology Faculty in January 2003 as an Instructor.  She primarily works with pediatric patients with neurologic needs.  Tricia received her R.N. degree from Oklahoma University and  her masters degree in Child Health and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from University of Texas at Arlington. Tricia spends most of her time happily raising a sweet little girl, but also enjoys reading, traveling, scuba diving and spending time with family and friends.  She grew up in OKC, relocated to Texas for 12 years, and has now moved back home.

Dr. Calin Prodan graduated from our residency program in June, 2001.  He then completed our Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship program in June, 2002.  He joined our faculty in July, 2002 and specializes in neuromuscular diseases.  He has a very strong interest in neurobehavioral and has published several articles on this subject.

Dr. Meheroz Rabadi joined our faculty in October 2007.  He will work primarily with the neurology service at the VA Medical Center.  His specialty is neurorehabilitation.

Dr. Elliott Ross joined the faculty in July, 1996 as Professor and Director of the Alzheimer's Center at the VAMC.  After residency in neurology at the University of Colorado and fellowship in behavioral neurology in the Boston program, Dr. Ross joined the faculty of Southwestern Medical School in Dallas as Assistant and then Associate Professor.  Dr. Ross went to the University of North Dakota as Chief of the Division of Neurology in 1988.  Dr. Ross has published extensively in behavioral neurology and cerebral cortical function focusing on both dementia as well as correlation of abnormalities on the MRI scan with behavioral and thought disorders.  His work on neurology of emotions is very extensive and respected.  Also working with Dr. Ross in the area of Alzheimer’s/dementia are Drs. Calin Prodan and Marilee Monnot.

Debra Weatherford, NP joined our faculty in July 2007.  Debra will be a member of our inpatient ward team at Presbyterian Tower and will assist in the care of neurology patients admitted to our service.

Dr. Peggy Wisdom has been on faculty since 1976 and is consistently voted by medical students and residents to be the best clinical teacher in neurology they have encountered. Dr. Wisdom is an excellent all around clinical neurologist and has a special interest in neurorehabilitation.  She is past chairperson of the Women in Neurology Section of the American Academy of Neurology.  She is also contributing author to Essentials of Pathophysiology.   Dr. Wisdom completed her neurology residency training at University of Florida in Gainesville.

FELLOWSHIPS:

We offer a 1-year clinical neurophysiology fellowship for further training in EEG and EMG.  With our neuromuscular specialists, neuropathologists at OU Medical Center, the Oklahoma MDA Clinic and a large number of ongoing basic science research projects, we will likely decide to  offer a neuromuscular fellowship in the future.  An epilepsy fellowship may be offered as our epilepsy surgery gets up to full speed.  A neurorehabilitation fellowship is also under consideration.  We are developing a well‑funded, clinical Alzheimer's Research Program at our VA, which could lead to a fellowship. 

WHAT ROTATIONS DO WE DO?

PGY-1:    Regular internal medicine internship (7 months of ward, 1 month of CCU, 1 month of MICU,

                1 month of ER, 1 month of elective and 1 month in Neurology). 

PGY-2:    12 months of Neurology wards, with 6 months each at the VA and PT.

PGY-3:    3 months of Child Neurology, 2 months of Clinical Neurophysiology (with 1 month each of EEG

                and EMG), 1 month of Psychiatry, 1 month of Neuropathology, 1 month of Radiology, 1 month of

                Neuro-Ophthalmology, 1 month of Clinic, and 2 months of Elective.

PGY-4:    6 months of Neurology ward duties (3 months each at VA and PT - you will run the ward at this

                time), 5 months of Elective, 1 month of Clinic.  You will have several other duties which include

                routine meetings with the faculty, input with the call schedule, etc.  

Please note there is some variability to this schedule over time.

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