Neuroscience Clerkship

UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS OF CLEVELAND

NEUROLOGY WARD ROTATION
 

Dear Students:

Welcome to the Neurology Ward 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 both in the hospital and in the outpatient clinic. 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 ward team. Formal rounds are held Monday through Friday with the Neurology Ward attending. The time of these rounds are at the discretion of the attending but are generally at 9:00 or 9:30 A.M. Ward rounds also occur Saturday and Sunday mornings with the ward attending, senior resident and the on-call neurology residents. Students should plan on rounding one of the weekend mornings. 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 ward service will be supervised by a senior neurology resident, who will serve as his or her preceptor throughout the clerkship. In addition to junior neurology residents, there may be rotating residents from medicine and other departments on the ward service 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 service. Students can use the physician conference room on Lerner Tower 4 as their headquarters.

Each day starts at 7:00 in the Neuro-ICU for Lerner 4 for work rounds. This is followed by either a teaching conference on Mondays, or morning report on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in the conference room outside the Neuro-ICU on Lerner 4. Afterwards, the ward team continues with work rounds on non-ICU ward patients. As new patients are admitted, the senior resident will assign students new admissions. In general, when assigned a new patient, students should review the old chart (if available); see the patient; perform a complete history and physical examination followed by writing up their admission in the hospital chart. All new patients will also be seen by the junior and senior neurology residents who will write their own notes. Students should discuss their patients with the senior and junior residents before they are presented during attending rounds. It is also helpful for the student to stamp a neurology yellow ward 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 write-ups 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.

On Wednesday afternoons, students should report to the neurology Bolwell 5 conference room for the weekly outpatient neurology resident clinic. The clinic is staffed by Dr. Cole and one other rotating neurology attending. The clinic starts at 12:30 and generally runs to 4:00-5:00. See Dr. Cole for patient assignments. You may see patients independently or shadow a neurology residents. All patients are then discussed and seen with the neurology attending.

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 Ward 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