Program overview
Goals
As a vascular neurology fellow, you’ll leave our program ready to:
- Provide high-quality clinical care and assessment of patients with various cerebrovascular disorders in different settings (emergency, inpatient and outpatient), including diagnostic evaluation, treatment, management, counseling and prevention
- Manage critically ill neurological patients, such as those with cerebral hemorrhage, brain aneurysms or vascular malformations
- Work effectively with multidisciplinary teams oriented to the care of these patients
- Order and interpret laboratory and imaging tests in patients with cerebrovascular diseases and stroke
- Develop the capacity to pursue a great career in the field of stroke and cerebrovascular disorders
Our fellowship prepares you for American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) vascular neurology board certification and a successful career as either an academic vascular neurologist or neurohospitalist.
Your clinical year will provide you with the rotations in vascular neurology you’ll need for board eligibility. You’ll gain extensive experience in the management of acute ischemic stroke with intravenous thrombolytics and endovascular methods, including intra-arterial thrombolysis and thrombectomy. And you’ll become comfortable interpreting neuroimaging including MRI, CT angiography and conventional angiography.
Clinical training
Acute inpatient stroke: Refine your knowledge of state-of-the-art acute stroke management on our inpatient service. You’ll develop leadership and educational skills by working closely with board-certified vascular neurology attendings, so you’re ready to lead a team of stroke advanced practitioners.
While on service, you’ll participate in daily rounds on stroke patients including in the ICU. Our stroke service sees patients in the Neuro ICU in conjunction with the Department of Pulmonary Critical Care. In all cases, you serve as an adjunct to the attending with responsibilities delegated as the attending sees fit.
Endovascular neurosurgery/ICU: You’ll participate in the robust clinical cases of the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center Endovascular Neurosurgery Department, which is led by three endovascular neurosurgeons, residents, advanced registered nurse practitioners and an endovascular fellow. Cases include mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke, repair of cerebral aneurysm and vascular malformations, and carotid endarterectomy and stenting.
If you’re interested, you’ll also have the chance to spend time on the endovascular neurosurgery inpatient clinical rotation.
Teleneurology: Geisinger has a robust telestroke service.
Neurovascular continuity clinic: You’ll refine your longitudinal management of stroke patients by following select patients after inpatient discharge in a dedicated fellow continuity clinic or new stroke referrals.
Research: We have various opportunities available depending on your interests. For more details, visit this website.
Electives/rotations
- Neuroradiology
- Palliative care
- Customized schedule (per your interest, requires a faculty mentor and written goals/objectives submitted in advance)
- One week for continuing medical education, the American Academy of Neurology annual conference, the annual International Stroke Conference or the Wake Forest transcranial Doppler course
Supervision
You’ll be directly supervised by one of the stroke attendings during rotations, and you’ll get immediate feedback. Our division maintains an open-door policy. Don’t hesitate to discuss concerns, stresses, challenges and plans with any of our stroke attendings at any time.
Grand rounds
You’ll be responsible to present one grand rounds topic of your choosing, but ideally related to research.
Stroke journal club
You’ll present two novel journal articles over the course of the academic year.