Education
Residency Training Program
Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences
300 Pasteur Drive, Room H3160
Stanford, California 94305-5235
Phone: (650) 725-6688
Fax: (650) 725-7459
The Department offers accredited adult and child neurology residency programs as well as post-graduate fellowship training in many neurological subspecialties. Clinical training is conducted through comprehensive hands-on experience in our 4 affiliated hospitals: Stanford University Hospital and Clinics, Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Palo Alto VA Medical Center and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. The hospitals, each with its own characteristic patient population, provide a diverse source of clinical materials. The training is complemented by exposure to cutting edge neuroscience and translational research.
The Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation & Translational Neuroscience (SINTN) brings together clinicians and scientists in the School of Medicine and other university departments. With 150 faculty participants dedicated to expanding the frontiers of neuroscience, the Institute builds on Stanford's expertise in Medicine, Humanities and Sciences, Engineering, Law and Business to form a world-class interdisciplinary program to provide innovative solutions to clinical medicine. This is complemented by the Stanford Bio-X program that takes advantage of our exceptional resources in engineering, computer science and bio-design as well as our long history of successful collaboration with industry in Silicon Valley. Faculty and trainees also have access to colleagues in the Stanford Health Research and Policy Department, which also provides a popular master degree program in epidemiology and clinical research methodology.
Program Strengths
Each of our 4 affiliated hospitals draws referrals from a different patient population, from the tertiary referrals at Stanford University Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to the bustling general neurology of a county hospital (Santa Clara Valley Medical Center). Each hospital is staffed by Stanford faculty, and is an integral part of the teaching program. We place emphasis on a well-rounded exposure to all aspects of neurology in both hospital and outpatient settings. The clinical experience ranges from top-notch programs in neurocritical care, stroke and epilepsy monitoring to a wide range of neurology subspecialty and general neurology clinics. The clinical services are supported by excellent ancillary services at all the 4 hospitals. The resident rotations are structured to enable trainees to concentrate on the neurological aspects of each case with a minimal amount of scut work.
The Stanford reputation attracts tertiary referrals from the Western United States and from around the world. The population growth of the metropolitan area around Silicon Valley also ensures a steady source of patients with a wide range of neurological diseases. All the clinical neurology programs have undergone substantial expansion over the past decade. For instance, the volume of Neurology patients at Stanford University Hospital is now the second highest of all the university hospitals in California.
Our residency program strives to maintain a rich environment for education. There is a Morning Report every day, an “Education Half-Day” every Wednesday afternoon, case conferences Tuesdays at noon, and Neurology Grand Rounds on Friday mornings. There are also optional subspecialty conferences in epilepsy, stroke, neuromuscular diseases, clinical neurophysiology and child neurology. (See Weekly Teaching Calendar)
Our neurology residents each have approximately 10 blocks of elective time over the course of 3 years. This provides the time for intensive exposure to neurology subspecialties and facilitates individualized career development during residency training. Residents interested in a research career may apply for the Neuroscience Scholar Track. This track provides opportunity to engage in funded research, either for 24 weeks during residency, or as a post-graduate research fellow for a whole year after completion of residency.
Residents and clinical fellows at Stanford have access to another valuable resource in the Stanford Society of Physician Scholars (SSPS). The SSPS spans major clinical departments and brings together talented residents and clinical fellows in order to train tomorrow’s medical leaders through scholarship and innovation, create a collaborative community, and foster mentoring opportunities between faculty and residents and between residents and medical students.
