Career Development: Medical Specialties: Neurology

Neurology is the medical specialty dedicated to the care of patients with dysfunction of the central nervous system (such as stroke, epilepsy, headache, Alzheimer's disease, sleep disorders, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors) or the peripheral nervous system (such as nerve root compression from herniated discs, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, Guillain- Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and muscular dystrophies). Neurologists typically divide their time between outpatients, inpatients hospitalized for primary neurologic disorders, and inpatients who were hospitalized for other conditions but who also have neurologic problems. Common procedures used by neurologists include lumbar puncture (LP), electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and polysomnography (PSG). Neurologists must also learn to interpret a variety of imaging studies, notably CT and MRI scans.

Residency training information:

• Duration of training (number of years): 4 years (1 year of internship, 3 years of residency)
• Number of programs nationally: 127 adult programs (481 positions) plus 69 pediatric programs (85 positions)
• Number of entering residency positions per year: 487
• Types of fellowships or subspecialties: Cognitive Disorders, Epilepsy, Neuromuscular, Electrophysiology, Sleep Disorders, Neuro-Critical Care, Neuro-ophthalmology, Neuro-Otology, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuro-Oncology, Movement Disorders, Neurorehabilitation, Vascular Neurology
• Type of Match: Regular
• Overall competitiveness: Moderately Competitive (good chance of matching for average student)

Primary faculty contact person for M1 and M2 students:

• Zachary London, M.D., (zlondon@umich.edu)

Medical Student Club or Interest Group:

• SIGN (Student Interest Group in Neurology)
  Contact Person: Zachary London, M.D., (zlondon@umich.edu)

Shadowing or mentoring experiences available to M1 or M2 students:

• Contact Person:Zachary London, M.D., (zlondon@umich.edu)

Resources:

• American Academy of Neurology   http://www.aan.com/
• American Neurological Association (http://www.aneuroa.org/students/medstudentspage.html)

Suggested journals, books, or other information for interested students:

Refer to the Career Development web site (Career Choices - Specialty Description) for this list.