Medical College of Wisconsin Adult Neurology Residency Program

I am excited to introduce you to the Adult Neurology Residency Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. As a field, Neurology is growing in scope and impact. It is truly an exciting time to be (or become) a Neurologist! Thank you for your interest in our program. I encourage you to connect with our program on Twitter (@mcw.adult.neuro) and Instagram (@mcw_adult_neurology).

We will conduct our interviews virtually for the Adult Neurology Residency Program. Our interview process is a two-part process. In order to allow you more time to meet me (the Program Director), I do my interview on a separate day from the rest of the faculty. We will be using the Thalamus system to schedule and conduct our interviews.

Our mission is to:

• Challenge our residents to achieve the highest standards of professionalism and excellence in patient care
• Guide trainees in discovery and exploration of the full scope of the academic mission: clinical care, education, scholarship, administration, patient safety and quality improvement, and community engagement
• Mentor all Neurology residents as individuals from internship through to successful practice and beyond
• Nurture the professional growth of each resident toward their personal goals based upon their unique talents and strengths

Throughout your training, you will work in three hospital environments. The primary teaching hospital is Froedtert Hospital, a tertiary-care academic medical center. For more on this facility, please see the video tour on the Program Overview section of our website. You will also train at Children's Wisconsin (our tertiary-care pediatric hospital) and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. Learn more about the history of our VA Medical Center dating back to 1867.

Our Department of Neurology includes clinical faculty from virtually all subspecialties of Neurology. Training for residents involves both inpatient and outpatient experiences. For inpatient experiences at Froedtert, residents work with faculty on the inpatient Neurology ward service, on the inpatient Neurology consult service, in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, and in the state-of-the-art Neurological Intensive Care Unit. At Children’s Wisconsin and the VA Medical Center, residents will work primarily in the inpatient consultation services and ambulatory setting. To enhance your outpatient experience, you begin your Continuity of Care clinic experience as an intern. In addition, your subspecialty clinic rotations begin at the end of the intern (PGY1) year. Outpatient clinic experiences are part of your training at all three hospitals.

The primary didactic curriculum for Neurology Residents occurs every Friday from 12:30 to 3:30 in our Academic Half Day. A three-year curriculum cycle is utilized to ensure all residents have formal didactic exposure to all topics. Our Grand Rounds (Friday mornings at 8:00) allow residents and faculty insight into the latest research and clinical practice within Neurology and related fields from experts here at MCW and around the country. Both Grand Rounds and the Academic Half Day are offered in a hybrid format with virtual and in-person attendance options.

We are excited about the transition to a 5+1 structure for our clinical rotation schedules in July 2024. This change to our program allows for an even greater balance between experiences in the ambulatory (outpatient) and inpatient settings to help our trainees learn the necessary skills and make informed decisions about careers. While this is a major change to the rotation structure, we designed the system to maintain the balance of content and experiences. One of the most important goals was to ensure the same or more elective time across the PGY2-4 training period. Across your PGY2-4 years, ~21% of your time is devoted to elective rotations of your choice. Inpatient rotations are 48% of your experience and outpatient care comprises the remaining 31%.

As a categorical residency program, we offer guaranteed PGY-1 positions at our institution through an agreement with the Department of Internal Medicine. While most of your time is spent in rotations in Internal Medicine, you will rotate on the Neurology inpatient service and in our outpatient clinic.

Our interview season will start in October (with an interview with the Program Director).

Thank you again for your interest in our program. We look forward to working with you throughout the residency application process and beyond.

Sincerely,
Chad Carlson, MD, FAAN
Professor of Neurology and Vice Chair - Education
Program Director – Neurology Residency
Medical College of Wisconsin