Education

This is a highly competitive residency with four positions per year. There are multiple opportunities for residents to develop research expertise both in the subspecialty programs in the Department of Neurology at Children's National Hospital and in programs at the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, which have working relationships with the Department of Neurology. Neurology residents have elected to extend their residency for one to two years to take advantage of the programs available at the National Institute of Health or complete a fellowship in epilepsy, neuro-oncology, fetology, neonatal neurology, neuro-critical care, or neuroimmunology.

Recent graduates of the Child Neurology Residency have pursued diverse clinical and research careers including:

Training Timeline

The Child Neurology Residency Categorical Track (four positions) is an ACGME-accredited categorical residency position offering a two-year pediatric and a three-year neurology training program to achieve board eligibility and full qualification for a career in child neurology including board eligibility in pediatrics.

The first two years of training are spent in Pediatric Residency and include a variety of clinical rotations preparing you for your career in pediatrics and child neurology. This is followed by the child neurology residency which includes 12 months of adult neurology and two years of child neurology. Training is coordinated with the adult neurology programs at George Washington University School of Medicine and Georgetown University School of Medicine. Rotations in adult neurology include six months of inpatient training on general neurology, stroke and epilepsy services, in addition to four months of outpatient and elective training in a variety of subspecialty clinics. Two months of child neurology rotations occur during the third year of training on both ward and neuro-critical care teams to develop skills to prepare for your career in neurology and provide an opportunity to return to Children’s National. There is an optional 2 week child neurology outpatient subspecialty elective during the third year of training to allow for greater exposure to subspecialties in the third year before having to decide on applications for subspecialty programs early in the fourth year of training. Adult neurology trainees from George Washington University School of Medicine and Georgetown University School of Medicine, along with those at the Armed Forces Program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital, complete their child neurology training at Children’s National.

The second year of the neurology program focuses on clinical child neurology, and occurs in both the inpatient and outpatient settings rotating between the Child Neurology Ward Team, Consult Team, Neuro-Critical Care Team and Neonatal Critical Care Teams in addition to two and a half months of electives. Electives can be used to fulfill requirements for board certification including EEG or may be used to further develop research projects. The final year of training is primarily electives in child neurology which could include neuropathology, neuroradiology, neurophysiology, epilepsy, neurooncology or others. Three to four months are spent on inpatient services or as a senior resident, taking on increasingly supervisory roles and preparing for independent practice. Most residents complete research projects during the final year as well (including abstracts and publications), participate in national neurology meetings and seminars and finalize plans for future academic pursuits. All residents participate in a half-day per week continuity clinic in child neurology throughout the entire three-year program. The clinic is held in the neurology outpatient clinic at Children’s National.

Regular conferences during the child neurology training include the following weekly lectures:

• Noon Lecture Series every Monday through Friday – subspecialty conference by all staff members within their area of expertise from epilepsy to neuro-psychology, from neuro-radiology to neuro-surgery. We also sponsor special series including board review, EEG conference, neuro-anatomy and localization, and Neuroagiography 101 throughout the year. The entire curriculum was re-created in 2023 to match the ABPN board topics and to best prepare trainees for successful completion of the board examination.
• Thursday Intake rounds – fellow-led conference with all staff in attendance every week to critically analyze interesting and difficult cases
• Monthly education day, including “Formal Intake,” Clinical Neuroscience Lectures and Journal Club or M&M