Program Overview

We are a young, dynamic, growing neurology residency program initially accredited in May of 2008. Our first residents began on July 1, 2009, and are on track to finish their training on June 30, 2012. Our resources include a growing faculty, now numbering 18, with further additions planned. Our clinical resources are diverse and include several outpatient sites, some of which are in underserved and rural areas. 

Our goal is the preparation of outstanding neurology clinicians and researchers who will provide scientifically sound, compassionate and innovative care to the people of Southern Arizona.

Residents learn the fundamentals of inpatient neurology while caring for patients on the wards and in state-of-the-art intensive care units. Ambulatory care experience is gained early in training and is extended through ongoing continuity of care clinics throughout the residency. Residents also participate in subspecialty clinics.

Residents have a wide variety of clinical experiences throughout the program in diverse clinical settings including underserved and rural areas. Research at a basic level involving the presentation of case-based scholarly reviews of clinical topics in venues such as grand rounds is required, and other research endeavors are strongly encouraged and available with a number of faculty members. Clinical neurophysiology including neuromuscular and epilepsy related diagnostic testing is a strong and required part of the curriculum.

A mentorship system is in place, and faculty are always available on an ad hoc basis for advice, teaching, and discussion. Supervision is almost always one-to-one, and all hospital patients in the primary and affiliated hospitals assigned to the department of neurology services are cared for by residents.

Didactic experiences including morning report, lectures, clinical conferences such as morbidity and mortality and grand rounds are scheduled on a regular basis and attendance is required.

An emphasis is placed on the team approach to patient care. At each level, residents are encouraged to learn and teach the important aspects of clinical evaluation and the pathophysiology of disease processes. With each year of additional training, greater responsibility for patient care and teaching of other team members is given. By completion of training residents are expected to be competent and independent in inpatient and outpatient Neurology.

Residents are expected to focus on three major goals; education, service and research. Educational goals include both acquisition of knowledge and dissemination of knowledge to other health professionals and students. Our intent is to provide the necessary background for the successful practice of Neurology. To accomplish this, the major teaching facilities utilized for the training programs are University Physicians Hospital Kino Campus, The University of Arizona Medical Center - University Campus, Tucson Medical Center and the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System in Tucson. University Physicians Hospital Kino Campus, Tucson’s second academic medical center since 2004, is the primary academic medical center.

To promote housestaff education, a number of required conferences are scheduled during the workweek. The Neurology conferences include morning report, a neurosciences course, case presentations and weekly Grand Rounds. There are also specialty conferences in neuroradiology, epilepsy, neuropathology, psychiatry and neurophysiology, neurovascular diseases, behavioral neurology, neurosurgery. Finally, there is a weekly Chief's Rounds and a weekly conference with the Neurology Residency Program Director.

While in Neurology training, overnight call is generally 7-8 nights per month during the PGY-1 year, and 3-4 nights per month during the PGY-2 year, and less in subsequent years. Overnight call is supervised by an attending neurologist who is on pager or is available by telephone. We have a call-backup system in place as a contingency. Our program encourages contacting the attending on call to go over cases, especially in the earlier years of training. Typically, we have one resident on call at night during the weekdays between 5 pm and 7 am. On weekends, there are two residents on call as the shift is longer (7 am-7 am). New PGY-2 residents are assisted by the Chief Resident by phone or on site for difficult cases. Our program strives to follow ACGME guidelines for duty hours, and strictly adheres to the Core Competencies.