Program Highlights
Program Highlights
UMass Chan Medical School’s comprehensive learning experience is tailored to the fellow’s clinical and research interests. The clinical experience is provided through UMass Memorial Medical Center, the primary teaching hospital of the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, MA.
We provide a flexible educational experience centered on the fellow’s interests including the traditional combined EMG/neuromuscular and EEG/epilepsy track or a single-track with EEG/Epilepsy focus or EMG/neuromuscular focus. The program provides clinical and didactic experience in Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Studies and Electroencephalography with additional training in the broad area of Clinical Neurophysiology. We also have an NAEC level 4 comprehensive epilepsy program which is supportive for patient-centered advanced training in all aspects of epilepsy care. This includes an epilepsy monitoring unit for diagnostic and pre-surgical workup, bedside continuous video EEG monitoring, and epilepsy surgery experiences. As well as neuromuscular ultrasound to evaluate nerve entrapment or multifocal neuropathy, myopathy, motor neuron disease, and for use during injection of botulinum toxin for spasticity.
Our accredited fellowship program provides a friendly training environment with the flexibility to focus on multiple elective opportunities by board-certified physicians and technicians.
Unique training opportunities to learn multiple procedural skills
- Autonomic testing
- Botox injections
- Electromyography and Nerve Conduction Studies
- Electroencephalography
- EMG/EEG training
- Epilepsy surgical intervention and monitoring
- Evoked potential and somatosensory evoked potential
- Skin nerve fiber biopsy
- Sleep disorder
- Ultrasound
Our training environment includes access to comprehensive programs such as:
- A state of the art interdisciplinary clinical and research ALS program.
- New England’s only Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy program.
- The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit run by epilepsy-trained faculty.
- A Neurological Rehabilitation and Recovery Clinic.
- Dedicated neuropathology faculty involved in teaching.
- Established Neurodiagnostic Center with certified EMG/EEG technologists
Curriculum
Fellows attend and participate in lectures, seminars, research meetings, and conferences during the year. We encourage the fellow to attend regional or national society meetings and to present their work. Trainees are reimbursed for the cost of attending academic conferences where they are primary presenters of scholarly activity.
Weekly Tuesday - Interdisciplinary neurology conferences
Fellows participate in the clinical neurology conference with collaborative colleagues from neurosurgery, neuro-interventional/neuro-IR, radiology, and other specialty groups to provide collaborative interdisciplinary patient care. The fellow must take part in at least one presentation during the training year.
Conferences
The fellows will participate in multiple educational conferences throughout the year, run by various specialists.
- Neuropathology conference: A monthly nerve/muscle biopsy session with the department of pathology that provides an opportunity to deepen the understanding of active clinical cases.
- Epilepsy/Surgical Epilepsy conference: A multidisciplinary monthly review of challenging epilepsy cases with neurosurgery, adult and pediatric epileptologists, and technologists.
- One-on-one didactic lectures: Direct and individualized didactic review of complex topics in Clinical Neurophysiology such as advanced management of epilepsy, immune suppressants in the treatment of neuromuscular diseases.
- One-on-one review of complicated cases, EMG/EEG studies and waves, and long-term EEG monitoring.
Active participation in medical education: The fellow will also participate in weekly residents’ EEG/EMG sessions and will be actively involved in the teaching of these sessions and resident board review sessions covering topics in Clinical Neurophysiology in the second half of the fellowship year.
Journal Club occurs every other month, covering recent updates and advances in the field of neuromuscular disease and epilepsy. The fellow presents important peer-reviewed literature under faculty supervision to the Department of Neurology in the divisions of neuromuscular disease and epilepsy, residents, and technologists. This allows the fellow to keep up with the most recent published evidence base and practice their individual appraisal skills which are important for continued learning in independent practice post-fellowship.
The fellow will attend our regular monthly Neuromuscular/EMG, Epilepsy, and Surgical Epilepsy conferences and help organize some of them.
Rotation Schedule
The program provides clinical and didactic training in cognitive and procedural skills to prepare fellows to be well-rounded board-certified Clinical Neurophysiologists with the option to tailor training to a fellow’s area of interest.
Fellows are supported by multiple subspecialty-boarded physicians (Clinical Neurophysiology, Neuromuscular, Epilepsy) and experienced EEG/EMG technicians.
All training is completed at the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, MA.
This fellowship is primarily outpatient based, though fellows regularly complete inpatient EMGs and EEGs. The fellowship program does not require overnight or weekend call coverage, which allows for work-life balance and focus on the educational experience.
Electives and Sample Rotation Schedule
Research and Clinical Opportunities
The collegial and supportive learning environment offers an established record of accomplishment in training clinically strong Clinical Neurophysiologists.
Fellows are encouraged to involve themselves academically in the many clinical and basic research opportunities in the Department of Neurology as well as the teaching of medical students and residents. Our department includes many faculty who are involved in research, including world-renowned neuromuscular and ALS specialist Dr. Robert Brown.
Clinical and Research focus opportunities
- ALS clinical and research center
- Clinical Neurophysiology
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy / Becker Muscular Dystrophy Interdisciplinary Program
- Epilepsy Center specialized clinical care center
- EEG/EMG and neurodiagnostic services
- FSHD clinical research program
- Neuromuscular Medicine