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It is time for a Neurology FAQ.
Anyone with any FAQ ideas, or anything they want to say, please PM me! This should be a communal project.
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What is a neurologist?
Neurologists are those physicians whose interests and practice are devoted to the care of persons with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Neurologists diagnose and treat conditions of the brain (strokes, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis), spinal cord (tramatic injury, inflammatory disorders), motor neuron (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), neuromuscular junction (myasthenia gravis), muscle (muscular dystrophy, myositis), and peripheral nerve (Guillain-Barré syndrome, peripheral neuropathies).
During the last half of the 20 th century, neurology grew from being a primarily diagnostic discipline to one in which pharmacological or other interventions are available for almost every neurological condition. Neurologists are now able to stop seizures, prevent or reduce the damage from strokes, ameliorate the abnormal movements of Parkinson's disease, modify the natural history of multiple sclerosis, prolong useful function in Alzheimer's disease, relieve painful neuropathies, and prevent crippling migraines. New and powerful diagnostic techniques range from imaging modalities that actually show the brain as it is functioning to genetic tests that can pinpoint rare diseases.
Neurologists are specialists who usually function as consultants to a patient's primary care physician. A neurologist may be called upon to make an initial diagnosis for neurological disease and then provide ongoing care for chronic or recurrent conditions. However, for patients who do not have significant other medical conditions requiring non- neurological care, the neurologist may be the principal care physician as well.
How do I become a neurologist?
Neurology training takes four years after graduation from medical school. The first year is an Internal Medicine Internship, the next three are training in Neurology. Some neurology residency programs guarantee you all four years, other places just provide PGY2-PGY4, and you are on your own for PGY1. More on this later.
Once residency is over, you can get a job, or complete a fellowship. Neurology, much like IM, is a field where different physicians can practice in radically different ways. This flexibility is one of the great things about the field.
After residency, many neurologists elect to do fellowship training in a subspecialty area. Examples of fellowship opportunities include:
Advanced Clinical Neurology
AIDS
Alzheimer's Disease
Behavioral Neurology
Cerebrovascular Disease/Stroke
Clinical Neurophysiology
Dementia
Epilepsy
Geriatric Neurology
Headache
Interventional Neurology
Movement Disorders
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuroepidemiology
Neurogenetics
Neuroimaging
Neuroimmunology
Neuro- Intensive Care
Neurologic Critical Care
Neuromuscular Disorders
Neuro-Oncology
Neuro-Ophthalmology
Neuro-Otology
Neuropathology
Neuropharmacology
Neurorehabilitation
Neurovirology
Pain
Peripheral Neurology
Sleep Disorders
Spine
Anyone with any FAQ ideas, or anything they want to say, please PM me! This should be a communal project.
--------
What is a neurologist?
Neurologists are those physicians whose interests and practice are devoted to the care of persons with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. Neurologists diagnose and treat conditions of the brain (strokes, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis), spinal cord (tramatic injury, inflammatory disorders), motor neuron (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), neuromuscular junction (myasthenia gravis), muscle (muscular dystrophy, myositis), and peripheral nerve (Guillain-Barré syndrome, peripheral neuropathies).
During the last half of the 20 th century, neurology grew from being a primarily diagnostic discipline to one in which pharmacological or other interventions are available for almost every neurological condition. Neurologists are now able to stop seizures, prevent or reduce the damage from strokes, ameliorate the abnormal movements of Parkinson's disease, modify the natural history of multiple sclerosis, prolong useful function in Alzheimer's disease, relieve painful neuropathies, and prevent crippling migraines. New and powerful diagnostic techniques range from imaging modalities that actually show the brain as it is functioning to genetic tests that can pinpoint rare diseases.
Neurologists are specialists who usually function as consultants to a patient's primary care physician. A neurologist may be called upon to make an initial diagnosis for neurological disease and then provide ongoing care for chronic or recurrent conditions. However, for patients who do not have significant other medical conditions requiring non- neurological care, the neurologist may be the principal care physician as well.
How do I become a neurologist?
Neurology training takes four years after graduation from medical school. The first year is an Internal Medicine Internship, the next three are training in Neurology. Some neurology residency programs guarantee you all four years, other places just provide PGY2-PGY4, and you are on your own for PGY1. More on this later.
Once residency is over, you can get a job, or complete a fellowship. Neurology, much like IM, is a field where different physicians can practice in radically different ways. This flexibility is one of the great things about the field.
After residency, many neurologists elect to do fellowship training in a subspecialty area. Examples of fellowship opportunities include:
Advanced Clinical Neurology
AIDS
Alzheimer's Disease
Behavioral Neurology
Cerebrovascular Disease/Stroke
Clinical Neurophysiology
Dementia
Epilepsy
Geriatric Neurology
Headache
Interventional Neurology
Movement Disorders
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuroepidemiology
Neurogenetics
Neuroimaging
Neuroimmunology
Neuro- Intensive Care
Neurologic Critical Care
Neuromuscular Disorders
Neuro-Oncology
Neuro-Ophthalmology
Neuro-Otology
Neuropathology
Neuropharmacology
Neurorehabilitation
Neurovirology
Pain
Peripheral Neurology
Sleep Disorders
Spine