Program Director's Note of Welcome

Dear prospective resident,

I am pleased that you are considering the University of Missouri Department of neurology to further your education and become a neurologist. I am very proud of our program for many reasons, and I believe that as you investigate our program you will find that it is the kind of department that will not only give you the quality of education you desire, but provide you with a home that you will always look back fondly upon and be able to revisit long after you begin your career.

Under the leadership of our chairman, Dr. Pradeep Sahota, this department has grown and prospered. We have virtually every neurologic subspecialty represented on staff and we take great pride in the educational support that we give our residents, as well as the excellent career opportunities that we provide them with during their training. We provide a very organized educational curriculum of rotations, didactic sessions, conferences and research opportunities. We strongly encourage research at all levels of postgraduate education, if desired by the resident.

We have a categorical residency program which means that we provide you with your first postgraduate year in Internal Medicine at this institution automatically when you match with us. This means less time, money and stress for you when applying since it is not necessary to interview and match for two programs.

The second postgraduate year consists of 8 weeks EEG rotation, 4 weeks neuroradiology rotation and the remainder of the year spent either on the University of Missouri inpatient service or at the Truman VA inpatient service. While on the University of Missouri inpatient service, the team consists of junior resident's, a senior neurology resident and the attending neurologist. Supervision is excellent and the opportunity for education, experience and professional growth are immeasurable. The experience is designed to teach you basic neurologic diagnosis and management, and we always have a variety of both common and rare/complex diseases on our service.

The third postgraduate year is spent in block time of EMG, EEG, neuropathology, child neurology and the neurology inpatient consultation service. On that service, you will work in a one on one capacity with the consulting neurology attending physician in a much more autonomous fashion designed to allow you greater responsibility for patient management, still with close supervision.

The fourth postgraduate year consists of rotations as the senior resident in charge of the University of Missouri inpatient service, but for two thirds of the remaining time you will have your choice of a combination of neurology subspecialty clinic rotations or neurologic research. This year is designed to round out your training with detail the clinical knowledge in the neurologic subspecialties working one-on-one with a specialist in each of the neurology fields such as epilepsy, movement disorders, stroke, headache etc. Also, the experience as a senior resident on the University of Missouri inpatient service allows further growth in preparation for a lifetime of independent thought and decision-making.

Throughout your years with us you will be asked to attend daily educational conferences on a variety of neurologic topics including basics sciences, research methodology, core neurology topics, grand rounds and case conferences.

Our graduates have gone to fellowships at The Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General, Vanderbilt, Washington University and other prestigious institutions, including our own Sleep Medicine fellowship program.

Beyond the medical education you will receive from our department, we encourage outside activities not related to the field of medicine in order to have a balanced, well rounded life. The University of Missouri is an excellent institution that offers diversions such as plays, dance, music, athletics and many other activities.

The city of Columbia (population approximately 100,000) is home to many museums, a wide variety of great restaurants, excellent schools, high quality stores and shops, and musical venues of all types as one would expect in a college town. Columbia's Cosmo Park is home to soccer and baseball fields, a professionally designed mountain bike course and a skateboard park. The metropolis of St. Louis and Kansas City are less than two hours drive, allowing easy access on weekends off without having to live in a large, crowded city 24/7.

The city and surrounding areas have many beautiful trails for running, biking and hiking that crisscross streams and pass through forests. The level of difficulty varies from easy walking to challenging trail running and mountain biking. There are many small lakes and ponds for boating, swimming and fishing, and the country's largest manmade lake is just a few hours drive from here. The state is home to many caves for exploration and national forests for camping and backpacking.

The Missouri river flows just outside of town and is flanked along its entire course from Kansas City to St. Louis by the Katy trail, a gravel topped biking and running rails to trails conversion trail, which has trail access from the downtown area of Columbia as well as many other spots within the city.

As you consider where to continue your medical education, I think you will not find a better place than the University of Missouri for its combination of academics and lifestyle.

Terry Rolan, MD
Residency Program Director