Neuroscience Clerkship

UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF CLEVELAND

NEUROLOGY CONSULT ROTATION
 

Dear Students:

Welcome to the Neurology Consult Service rotation at University Hospitals. The next month will be a busy one and will allow you to see and manage a variety of different neurologic patients throughout the hospital, including patients on the medical, psychiatry, maternity and surgical wards, as well as the intensive care units and emergency room. Below is a brief outline of the clerkship activities. It is our hope that your experience over the next month will be both educational and enjoyable.

Rounds

Students are expected to function as an integral part of the neurology consult team. Formal rounds are held Monday through Friday with the Neurology Consult attending. The time of these rounds are at the discretion of the attending but are generally in the afternoon. Consult rounds also occur Saturday and Sunday mornings with the consult attending and the neurology on-call resident from the night before. Students should plan on rounding one of the weekend mornings with the consult attending each week. Students are excused from their clinical activities every Thursday after 10:00 A.M. so that they can attend the didactic teaching sessions. In addition, students are also excused one day of the rotation for the visit to Heather Hill Rehabilitation Hospital where they will be introduced to rehabilitation medicine and have an opportunity to work with physical, occupational and speech therapists (check with the clerkship director regarding the date - it will typically be the third Tuesday of the rotation).

Daily Activities

Each student on the neurology consult service will be supervised by a senior neurology resident, who will serve as his or her preceptor throughout the clerkship. Often, there may be rotating residents from medicine, psychiatry or anesthesia as part of the consult team as well. The senior resident will make specific patient assignments. Please contact the senior resident on the first day of the clerkship who will orient you to the consult service. The consult resident can always be reached via UH beeper number 30116. Students can use the physician conference room on Lerner Tower 4 as their headquarters.

Each day starts at 7:30 in the conference room outside the Neuro-ICU on Lerner 4 for morning report. Afterwards, students should meet with their consult chief resident who will organize the day. In general, active follow-up patients will be seen in the morning, as well as new consults seen the night before by the on-call resident will need to be seen by the consult team and later staffed by the consult attending. As new consults are received, the senior resident will assign students new patients consults. In general, when assigned a new patient, students should review the chart; see the patient; perform a directed neurologic history and physical examination followed by writing up their consult on the official consult note paper. Ideally, students should discuss their patients with the senior resident, who will also often see the patient with them before they are presented later during attending rounds. It is also helpful for the student to stamp a neurology green consult charge ticket and have it available to give to the attending at the time of rounds. Sometime during the month, students are expected to give a copy of their two best consults to their attending to aid them in their evaluation. At the end of the clerkship, students should be facile performing a neurologic history and examination.

Call

Overnight call is not required, but students are expected to shadow the on-call resident, and to stay late once a week. Students are not required to stay later than 10:00 P.M., but are encouraged to stay late and participate if something interesting is going on. Weekend call is not required of students. Students are expected to participate on rounds on either Saturday or Sunday morning. Check with your attending about the time of weekend rounds.

Conferences for Neurology Consult Students

Conferences for All Students

Grades

Students are expected to play an active role on the service in order to receive a satisfactory grade. There is a written examination for all students that includes material from the Thursday didactic sessions. Students will not be tested on material that has not been covered in the clerkship.

The neurology residents and attendings are eager to participate in student teaching and are here to help you navigate your way through the clerkship. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me any time. Good luck!

Sincerely,

David C. Preston, M.D.
Director, Neuroscience Clerkship