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Adult Neurology Residency — Danville

Provide care that helps patients live fuller lives. Learn how with a Geisinger Neurology Residency. 

About us

Geisinger’s Neurology Residency — Central was founded in 2012. The neuroscience institute is comprised of 47 adult and 10 child neurologists, 22 neurosurgeons, 33 advanced practitioners, 7 neuro-endovascular physicians and 1 genetic counselor. Residents benefit from innovative healthcare delivery through a multidisciplinary team of specialists at three clinical campuses. Training at Geisinger will give residents a level of personalized attention and clinical experience not available elsewhere. We take pride in partnering with you to achieve your personal and professional career goals.

 

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Goal

To train excellent future clinical neurologists and clinician-educators, emphasizing qualities such as teamwork, honesty, empathy, professionalism, and advanced communication skills, while promoting lifelong self-directed learning.

Program aims

  1. Train residents to excel in a patient-centered, integrated healthcare system, with an emphasis on quality of care and evidence-based medicine.
  2. Promote continuous self-assessment and improvement through mentorship and the creation of individualized goals and objectives.
  3. Develop education-related skills in residents and faculty to cultivate an approachable and motivational teaching environment that facilitates the retention of our faculty and graduating residents.
  4. Foster professional behavior and communication skills with both patients and interprofessional colleagues through faculty modeling, simulation, direct observation and feedback.

Highlights

  • Supportive environment
  • High-quality, dedicated core teaching faculty
  • Resident and faculty mentorship program
  • Structured didactic curriculum
  • Early exposure to neurology with 16 weeks during intern year
  • Weekly schedule with "mini" electives
  • Continuity clinic weeks with no inpatient service obligations (for more information, view our FAQs at the bottom of this page)
  • Three weeks of boot camp (intensive neuroanatomy and neuroscience)
  • Night float system with in-house teaching attending for junior residents
  • Catchment area of nearly 3 million people in 48 counties
  • Individualized resident attention and rotation-building for personal growth and success
  • Well-being initiatives
  • Annual resident retreat and other social events
  • Leadership opportunities: Residency advisory committee; house staff association; diversity, equity and inclusion council; well-being committee; social media ambassadors.
  • Competitive pay scale, medical education funds and generous vacation time

Complementary programs

Program overview

Curriculum

Geisinger’s Neurology Residency — Central offers a curriculum that allows you to develop an integrated approach to patient care.

Innovative experiences such as well-being initiatives, residents as teachers, quality improvement, simulation, standardized patient communication workshops and orientation boot camp will all be woven throughout your clinical training. 

Elective opportunities

  • Neuromuscular
  • Epilepsy
  • Neurophysiology
  • Neuro-immunology
  • Movement disorders
  • Cognitive neurology 
  • Headache medicine
  • Vascular neurology
  • Neuro-ophthalmology
  • Neuro-otology
  • Neurocritical care
  • Neuroradiology
  • Teleneurology
  • Neuro-genetics
  • Sleep medicine
  • Interventional pain medicine
  • Neuro-rehabilitation
  • Research
  • Neuro-endovascular
  • Procedure
  • Physical medicine & rehabilitation 
  • Away rotations

Foundations of Neuroscience (boot camp)

The goal of the Foundations of Neuroscience course is to help you develop a detailed knowledge of neuroscience, neuroanatomy and neuropharmacology. Extensive and detailed correlation with clinical syndromes and neuroimaging is stressed. This three-week course is attended by our PGY2 and PGY4 residents.

Away rotations

Residents are permitted to schedule away rotations at other institutions for experiences not available at Geisinger.

Child neurology and psychiatry

We offer in-house child neurology and psychiatry rotations.

 

Didactics

Didactic curriculum

You’ll receive five hours of formal didactics each week.

  • Friday, noon – 3 p.m.: Block didactics with faculty-led lecture series
  • Wednesday, noon – 1 p.m.: Departmental and resident-led conferences – Grand Rounds, Journal Club, M&M, neuroradiology and neuro-rheumatology
  • Thursday 7 – 8 a.m.: Morning Report

Additional didactic sessions include:

  • Simulations: Neurologic emergencies, delivering bad news, functional neurologic disorder, shared decision-making, disclosure of error, domestic violence, end of life goals
  • Certifications: Emergency neurological life support (ENLS) and brain death certifications
  • Subspecialty conferences: Epilepsy conference, neurophysiology case conference, stroke conference, Tumor Board conference, aging brain conference
  • Wellness, bias recognition and mitigation, cross-cultural competency, social determinants of health

Resident presentation requirements

This program emphasizes evidence-based medicine and aims to develop your education-related skills. As a learner, you’ll get the opportunity to practice these skills with faculty mentoring.

  • PGY4s present one departmental Grand Rounds.
  • PGY2s, PGY3s and PGY4s present one journal club article per year.
  • PGY2s are paired with PGY4s to present one M&M conference per year.
  • All residents are paired with radiology residents to present a case at a neuroradiology conference two-three times per year.
  • Neurology residents on the general consult service will present a case of their choice in morning report. Presenter is assigned by our medical education chief.
Continuity clinic and mini electives

  • We do our schedule on a weekly basis, with every week starting on Wednesdays for PGY1 residents and Tuesdays for PGY2 – 4 residents.
  • Continuity clinic occurs every five weeks during PGY2 – 4 years.
  • Clinics are held on Thursdays (all day), Fridays (morning only) and Mondays (all day).
  • Friday continuity clinic is reserved for telemedicine visits and acute care slots. This gives residents the opportunity to acquire and practice the necessary skills for telemedicine encounters as well as an opportunity to follow hospital discharge patients and patients that need to be evaluated urgently.
  • Continuity clinic slots for new patients are subspecialty slots for neuromuscular, epilepsy, cognitive, movement disorders and neuro-immunology. Tuesdays and Wednesdays of every continuity clinic week are dedicated to mini electives of your choice. This model gives you early exposure to multiple different subspecialties to expand your clinical skills and help you decide on a fellowship.
  • You also have weekly subspecialty electives with no continuity clinic.

See a sample schedule.

Well-being and social events

We love our residents and value their well-being! Our program has robust well-being initiatives and social/family support.

Well-being initiatives

  • Allowed time for medical and dental appointments
  • Wellness days
  • Academic time
  • Interview days for fellowship
  • Administrative time for chief residents
  • Relocation days for graduates
  • Weekly schedule for continuity clinic with no service responsibilities
  • Work decompression with limitation of night float to one week
  • Recovery time for night float and inpatient service senior resident
  • Parental, medical and/or caregiver leave
  • Training sessions for efficiency using the electronic medical record
  • Institutional wellness resources

Program-sponsored social events

  • Annual retreat for residents, program leadership, and their families
  • Welcome party for new residents
  • Halloween party with best costume contest
  • Holiday party with white elephant gift exchange
  • Graduation ceremony to honor our graduates and present resident and faculty awards
  • Monthly well-being activities organized by our well-being committee

Rotation sites

PGY1 rotation sites

Geisinger Medical Center

PGY2 - 4 rotation sites

Geisinger Medical Center

Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center

Geisinger Community Medical Center

Frequently asked questions

Are interviews virtual, in-person or both?

We follow the recommendation from the American Academy of Neurology and conduct virtual interviews only. 
What is the length of your program?

We are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The Neurology Residency length is a four-year categorical training program with an integrated internal medicine preliminary year.
Is there a set USMLE/COMLEX score a candidate must achieve to be considered for the program?

No, but we prioritize applicants with no failed exams.
Is Step 2 required?

Step 2 scores are not required at the time of application, but will be required for ranking.
Does your program have a graduation cut-off period for candidates?

Yes, our cut-off from graduation is three years.
Do you accept foreign medical graduates?

Yes, many of our current residents and graduates are foreign medical graduates.
What visas do you support?

We currently support J1 visas only.
How many residents do you accept per year?

We currently accept four residents per year.
Does your intern year meet osteopathic requirements?

Yes, we assist our residents with all AOA requirements.
What type of incentives do we receive?

Our residents receive the following incentives:

  • $1,800 per academic year for meals and wellness
  • $750 for book, conference and membership funds your intern year
  • $2,500 for book, conference and membership funds each additional year

We also offer parental leave and a generous vacation and holiday allowance.

Do you have a night float system?

Yes, we have a night float system with an in-house attending for junior residents.
Do the residents have dedicated work space?

Yes, we have two dedicated neurology resident workrooms with individual workspaces, neuroimaging platform, lockers and windows.
Do you have fellowship programs?

Yes, we have an ACGME-approved, a Neuroendovascular Surgery Fellowship, a Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Fellowship, and a Sleep Medicine Fellowship.

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