Month: April 2016

Interdisciplinary Education in Neurology and Internal Medicine

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Senior resident Dr. Jeffrey Dewey led residents from two specialties through a joint neurology-medicine conference today.

A collaborative effort between the programs that started this academic year, interdepartmental case conferences allow neurology and internal medicine residents to discuss topics in the crossover between the closely related fields. The cases on cortical vein thrombosis today highlighted the intersection between stroke neurology and hematology, while prior conferences have addressed neurological complications of systemic sarcoidosis (led by senior neurology resident Dr. Benjamin Blond) and strokes in the young as related to endocrine disorders (led by senior neurology resident Dr. Shivani Ghoshal).

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This year, residents from both departments also collaborated in teaching the “Top Ten” joint medicine-neurology clerkship conferences for third year medical students at Yale School of Medicine. Neurology residents currently teach four of the ten sessions in each cycle. The goal is for medical students to develop expertise in approaching patients who present with neurological complaints stemming for systemic medical disease and vice versa.

Leadership from the two departments are continuing to seek collaborative educational opportunities.

68th American Academy of Neurology Annual Conference

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The 68th American Academy of Neurology (AAN) annual conference in Vancouver was well-attended by Yale trainees this year including seven resident physicians and three fellows. Presenters included fellows Drs. Amy Chan, Irene Yang and Teddy Youn as well as residents Drs. Diane Chan, Ilena George, Vincent Lau and Sirisha Sanamandra. Recent Yale alumnus and current Vanderbilt fellow Dr. Matt Schrag discussed tPA for central retinal artery occlusion based on joint research from the two institutions.

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Neuro-oncology fellow Dr. Amy Chan discusses treatment of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia with central nervous system involvement

 

Dr. Matthew Schrag presenting joint research from Yale and Vanderbilt

Recent alumnus Dr. Matthew Schrag presents joint research from Yale and Vanderbilt

 

At the awards luncheon, chief resident Dr. Sara Schaefer was honored with the Award for Creative Expression of Human Values in Neurology based on her piece “Caring for Maggie“, published in the Neurology journal in August 2015. Dr. Ilena George also represented Yale as an editor of Neurology (an example of her work is found here in a recent podcast).

Highlights from residency leadership included department chair Dr. Hafler’s plenary speech, vice-chair Dr. Greer’s discussion on brain death and program director Dr. Moeller’s talk on neurology simulation. Residents also praised presentations on EMG waveform reading, neuro-ophthalmology cases and unusual movement disorders. Many participated in virtual reality sessions and other learning activities at the exposition.

Drs. Irmady and Lau participating in a virtual reality module about multiple sclerosis

Drs. Irmady and Lau participate in a virtual reality module about multiple sclerosis

 

Drs. Chan and Sanamandra learning about Parkinson's psychosis via virtual reality

Drs. Chan and Sanamandra learn about Parkinson’s psychosis via virtual reality

 

Residents networked with faculty at the Yale Neurology reception on Tuesday April 19th and dined at Belgian restaurant Chambar the following evening. Outside of the convention, attendees explored the beautiful city of Vancouver via biking to Stanley Park and Granville Island, braving the 70-meters-high Capilano Suspension Bridge and riding the Seabus to North Vancouver.

Yale neurology reception: Dr. Greer with current and former trainees

Yale neurology reception: Vice-chair Dr. Greer with current and former trainees

 

Attendees look forward to the AAN conference in 2017 to take place in Boston.

ABC News Medical Unit: Resident Experience

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Third-year resident Dr. Vincent Lau returns to Yale after a month working at the medical unit of ABC news in New York City in March. His role there consisted of translating newsworthy medical research to formats digestible to the public. He also explored social media outlets as a means to educate audiences. He plans to use his new multimedia skills to further his work in medical education.

Dr. Lau (rightmost) on set

Yale neurology residents enjoy a month free of direct patient care to explore career-related interests, taking place in both years of senior residency. Other residents have engaged in clinical work overseas in Paris, France and Prague, Czech Republic. Some use the protected time to accelerate their research.

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Caring for Maggie: A Conversation in the Neuroscience ICU

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Chief resident Dr. Sara Schaefer receives the Creative Expression of Human Values in Neurology for her piece “Caring for Maggie“. Published in Neurology, the essay details a conversation between a patient’s loved one and her physician in the ICU, while exploring the underlying intentions of both parties. A deep and almost uneasy piece, it captures the common breakdown in patient-physician communication despite best intentions.

The award will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology conference later this month.