Education
Neurology Residency Program
Program Director: Sandeep Rana, MD
Program Length: 3 years
Positions: 12 starting in July 2013
The Neurology Residency Program, now sponsored by the Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) - Western Pennsylvania Hospital (WPH) Graduate Medical Education Consortium, was established at AGH in 1993 under the tutelage of Jon Brillman, MD, chairman of AGH's Department of Neurology, and continues under the expert direction of Sandeep Rana, MD, program director and Thomas Scott, MD, program co-director.
Prerequisites, Applications and Contact Information
Successful applicants must complete a preliminary 8 to 12 months of broad clinical experience in internal medicine, with primary responsibility in patient care, prior to consideration for our Neurology Residency Program.
You must apply to our residency program through ERAS.
Please contact Michele Cardamone, Coordinator, 412.359.6527, with any questions; interviews are by appointment only.
About the Program
Our training program places a strong emphasis on traditional bedside teaching and the use of sophisticated technology in all aspects of the neurosciences, including basic neurosciences research.
Our neurology faculty is dedicated to the care of neurologically ill patients, as well as education and research into uncommon neurological disorders. The house staff experience personal daily supervision by senior attending physicians who emphasize and demonstrate the qualities needed for excellent inpatient care, professionalism, medical acumen, diagnostic test interpretation, and interpersonal and communication skills. The approach to practical and system-based learning is shared throughout many levels during residency training. In addition, a strong emphasis in placed on maintaining close interactions with other disciplines.
Dr. Valeriano conducts teaching rounds with the neurology house staff.
Clinical Facilities and Resident Responsibilities
The Neurology Residency Program is based at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh, Pa., where our faculty and residents see approximately 700 inpatients and 1500 outpatients annually.
The designated neuroscience floor at AGH has 36 beds dedicated to the care of neurologic and neurosurgical patients, with three rooms designed for extended-stay video-electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring.
The faculty and house staff also monitor eight maximum-observation beds for trauma/intensive care neurology/neurosurgery patients and 23 beds in the Surgical or Neurointensive Care units.
The department diagnostic laboratory capabilities include the EEG/Evoked Potential (EP) Laboratory and Electromyography (EMG)/Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV) Laboratory, in addition to continuous video-EEG monitoring.
Neurology residents care for patients in the General Neurology Clinic and in subspecialty clinics such as the Cerebrovascular/Stroke, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuromuscular (including Botulinum Toxin), Neuro-Oncology, Spasticity, and Movement Disorders clinics.
Conferences
The Neurology Residency Program's conference schedule includes monthly Journal Club and the following weekly sessions:
- Combined Neurology/Neurosurgery/Pathology conference
- EEG, EMG, epilepsy/stroke case presentations
- Neuroscience Grand Rounds
- Neuropathology Conference
- Neuroradiology Conference
Sample Neurology Resident Weekly Conference Schedule
Clinical Rotations*
| PGY 2 | 10 months | Adult Inpatient/Adult Neurology Consults |
| 2 months | Electives* | |
| PGY 3 | 3 months | Outpatient Office/Specialty Clinics |
| 4 months | Electives* | |
| 2 months | Adult Inpatient/Adult Neurology Consults | |
| 1 month | Psychiatry | |
| 1 month | Neurorehabilitation (at HealthSouth Harmarville) | |
| 1 month | Pediatric Neurology (at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC) | |
| PGY 4 | 6 months | Senior resident - Inpatient Service |
| 4 months | Electives* | |
| 2 months | Pediatric Neurology (at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC) |
*Electives are available in basic research, behavioral neurology, EEG, EMG, neuro-ophthalmology, neuro-otology, neuropathology, neuroradiology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, outpatient and subspecialty clinics.
Research
The Neurology Residency Program provides a clinical neuroscience research track through all 3 years of the program (PGY-2 through PGY-5). The ongoing lecture series, taught by expert faculty, covers topics ranging from research design to basic statistics, and includes preparation of manuscripts for editorial review. Individual faculty mentorship is supported throughout training on project design, development and presentation.
Faculty
Our Neurology faculty includes 13 physicians and a neuropsychologist and is supported by certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs) with specialty training in neurology.
