Preceptor: John Wells, MD, Aaron Nelson, MD 
Course Code: 05-12
Contact: Suzie Chin, Suzie.Chin@NYULangone.org or Meredith Marsini, Meredith.Marsini@NYULangone.org
Phone: 929-455-5635 ext. 55635

Prerequisites: Pediatric Clerkship, Neurology Clerkship

Who should enroll in this elective?

Students considering child neurology as a career, or those interested in child-neurology-adjacent specialties including—but not limited to—pediatric neurosurgery, child psychiatry, developmental & behavioral pediatrics, genetics, pediatric endocrinology, etc.

Clinical sites

Several half-days per week will be spent in various general and subspecialty outpatient child neurology clinics at NYU Langone Neurology Associates (222 East 41st Street) and Bellevue Hospital, with the rest of the time spent as part of the inpatient child neurology consultation service that covers Bellevue Hospital, Tisch Hospital, and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital.

Description

This is an advanced 4-week elective that seeks to build on prior general pediatric and neurologic knowledge and experiences gained earlier in training. It may be used to build upon experience spent previously on child neurology, as the depth and scope will be commensurate with level. As an advanced elective, students are expected to either function at or develop to the level of a sub-intern. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the core principles of neuroscience, foundational clinical knowledge, and essential technical and examination skills relevant to the specialty through encounters with a diverse range of cases reflective of this specialty across multiple dynamic sites serving a full spectrum of demographics and pathophysiology. Students will gain this experience through directly observed histories and physical examinations, will be taught skills of localization and pathophysiologic mechanisms, and learn how to triage and prioritize differential diagnoses both by probability and urgency / severity.

Objectives of the Elective

By the end of this elective, through daily contact with patients, clinician educators, and didactics, you will:

1. Gain a deeper understanding of the field of child neurology, building on your prior general pediatrics and general neurology training and experience
2. Expand your skills in inpatient and outpatient diagnostic workup and therapeutic management of infants, children, and adolescents with a broad spectrum of neurologic disorders
3. Learn about specialty-specific history and physical exam findings along with indications for—and potential complications of—specialty-specific procedures
4. Gain knowledge regarding new and emerging treatment modalities used to treat patients including advanced emerging molecular, immunologic, and genetic therapies
5. Experience and gain insight into the interdisciplinary nature of child neurology, and the many ways our clinicians interact with a broad array of other medical disciplines to provide comprehensive patient care to children across the developmental and socioeconomic spectrum
6. Ensure your choice of child neurology (or related specialty) as a career

Key Responsibilities of the student while on Elective

By enrolling in this elective, you have agreed to:

1. Participate in at least 35 contact hours of clinical care and education each week
2. Provide communication of any excused absences to the Office of Student Affairs (excused absence form) and to the elective coordinator, in a timely fashion
3. Arrive in a timely fashion to all assigned locations and duties  
4. Participate in clinical encounters including daily morning rounds and both inpatient and outpatient care with residents and attendings
5. Be an active participant in the care of patients being followed by the team, as designated by the resident/attending
6. Attend all didactics provided for trainees as able, as outlined below
7. Prepare and present on a chosen topic by completion of the rotation

Key Responsibilities of the preceptor/residents/faculty while you are on Elective

In accepting your enrollment in this elective, the department has agreed to:

1. Clearly communicate their expectations
2. Maintain a supportive clinical learning environment
3. Ensure access to a diverse case mix for broad clinical experience
4. Provide education to aid in understanding of both the patients and patholophysiology reflective of this specialty
5. Provide direct feedback on your clinical skills, knowledge base, and diagnostic reasoning

Didactic Program

Throughout this rotation there will be regular 8AM lectures on a variety of topics, including neurology grand rounds, chief / professor rounds, and a joint pediatric neuroradiology conference. In addition, Tuesday afternoon will include several hours of dedicated child neurology didactics including child neurology grand rounds, test preparation questions, and a variety of internal and external speakers.

Weeks 1+2	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Morning	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service
Afternoon	Bellevue Child Neurology Clinic	Child Neurology Didactic Block	Child Neurology Consult Service	Bellevue Child Neurology Clinic	Bellevue Child Neurology Clinic

 

Weeks 3+4	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Morning	NYU Child Neurology Clinic	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service	Child Neurology Consult Service
Afternoon	Bellevue Child Neurology Clinic	Child Neurology Didactic Block	NYU Child Neurology Clinic	Bellevue Child Neurology Clinic	Bellevue Child Neurology Clinic

Method of Evaluation

Assigned child neurology attendings and residents will discuss students and assess:

1. Attendance
2. Participation
3. Learning
4. Initiative
5. Ability to get along with faculty, residents, patients and families.

Scheduling Information

Duration: 4 Weeks

Months Offered: All year

Student point of contact before start of elective: Meredith Velazquez (or Suzie Chin) as noted above. Meredith Velazquez can be contacted by email at Meredith.Velazquez@NYULangone.org, and by phone at 929-455-5635 ext. 55635.

On day 1, students report to: The child neurology consult service, which will include the assigned child neurology attending and resident listed in Amion. The consult service resident can be reached directly, 24 hours a day, at their service phone number: 646-477-9219. If that fails, the child neurology residency program director, Dr. Aaron Nelson, can be reached by email at Aaron.Nelson@NYULangone.org or 646-509-0386 to directly connect you with the on-service resident and attending.

Students Per Period: 2

Note: For this elective, visiting student applications will be processed through AAMC’s Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program. The VSLO Application Service (aka VSAS) enables students to browse and apply for this elective.

This elective gives visiting medical students who come from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine the opportunity to explore and experience training at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.