4 weeks
Clerkship Director
Cigdem Isitan Alkawadri, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Clinical Director, Multiple Sclerosis & Neuroimmunology Fellowship
isitanc@upmc.edu
Clerkship Assistant Director
Katherine Cobb-Pitstick, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
cobbkm@pitt.edu
Course Description
The Neurology Clerkship is 4 weeks and includes experience in neurology, neuropathology, and neuroradiology. Clinical teaching with attendings and residents occurs in inpatient and ambulatory settings and student can spend time at Children’s hospital on the pediatric neurology service.
Course Objectives
- Complete a detailed, organized neurologic exam identifying abnormalities.
- Understand how to localize a neurologic disorder in the nervous system and generate a tiered differential diagnosis.
- Write a complete new EHR patient note.
Clinical experiences include case presentations, topic presentations and reviews and case based and interactive didactics. Students obtain neuropathology workshops. Students have a formative standardized patient encounter that includes the neurologic exam and obtaining consent for a lumbar puncture. Students have a lumbar puncture simulation exercise, including order entry and writing a procedure note.
Clinical sites include Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, Neurology Outpatient Clinic (Kaufmann Building), UPMC Headache Center (University Center), UPMC Montefiore, UPMC Passavant, UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Shadyside, and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.
Educational Methods
- Inpatient patient-care activities
- Outpatient patient care activities
- Simulation
- Diagnostic imaging session
- Standardized patient encounters
- Case-based didactics
- Structured readings
- Review of written patient notes
- NBME exam review
- Workshops
Evaluation
The Neurology clerkship grade is based on clinical evaluations from residents and attendings (50%), NBME web-based subject exam score (25%), review of two EMR notes (10%), witnessed exam (10%), and professionalism (5%).
Grading: The clerkship is graded Honors, High Satisfactory, Satisfactory, Low Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory.