Career Development
All first-year (PGY-2) neurology residents are paired with a faculty neurologist who serves as their clinical mentor. The clinical mentorship program enables residents to establish regular and long-term contact with a faculty adviser who is available to review clinical skills, provide opportunities to see patients in the office or simply offer encouragement and support during the early months of residency. The mentorship program is paired with a formal business of medicine curriculum, providing opportunities for mentor-mentee pairs to discuss practical aspects of careers in medicine post-residency.
The research mentorship program is a more formal arrangement between the residency program and the department that begins during the second year of neurology training. PGY-3 and PGY-4 residents planning to conduct a research project work closely with faculty research mentors who supervise and guide the residents through the research project. The goal of the program is to provide residents with training and experience in clinical research. All residents complete either a research project or a QI project by the end of residency and present their findings to the department during Ground Rounds in May to June during the final year of training. Residents are further encouraged to submit their final projects for presentation at national meetings and for publication.
The neurology resident Zambia elective at Northwestern University was established by Igor Koralnik, MD, Professor of Neurology and division chief of Neuro-Infectious Disease and Global Neurology. Each year, up to two neurology residents receive a stipend to travel to Lusaka, Zambia, for a one-month elective. During this elective, they are fully integrated into the Zambian health system, see inpatient neurology consults, work in outpatient clinics, help in teaching Zambian neurology residents and medical students, and participate in research under the direct supervision of Drs. Omar Siddiqi of Harvard University and Deanna Saylor of Johns Hopkins at The University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
This one-of-a-kind partnership is designed to prepare students for leadership roles in healthcare systems and organizations. Students in this fast-tracked, part-time MBA program will supplement their medical residency with the business savvy necessary to propel their leadership journey in medicine.
In an effort to offer residents and fellows a broad educational experience, McGaw has developed clinical scholar programs for those house staff with specialized interests and anticipated career paths.
McGaw is increasing efforts to provide experiences designed to develop skills in education. The initial phase of this process has resulted in the development of five modules (see below link) to provide a baseline for more in-depth experiences.
