Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship

The Fellowship in Brain Injury Medicine is dedicated to developing academic physicians with expertise in the diagnosis and management of patients across the full spectrum of severity of brain injury from concussion through severe disorders of consciousness, as well as care for the patient through the continuum of care from early management in the Intensive Care Unit through rehabilitation to community reintegration and return to work, school or other main life activities.

Aims

1) Educate fellows in the neuroanatomy-based approach to the rehabilitation management of the brain injured patient

2) Provide fellows with clinical training in the care of the brain injured patient throughout the continuum-- from ICU to long term community reintegration

3) Provide fellows with exposure to the care of patients with brain injury across the spectrum of brain injury severity—from concussion to disorders of consciousness.

4) Prepare fellows for practice of brain injury medicine in an academic medical setting.

Clinical Experiences

Inpatient Brain Injury Rehabilitation

This rotation is the "core" of the fellowship. Trainees spend six months on the inpatient Brain Injury Unit at Shirley Ryan AbiltyLab and one month on the Inpatient Stroke Service. The fellow will work with one of the core faculty members board-certified in brain injury medicine each month and will provide an assessment, treatment plan, management and oversight of patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

Neurocritical Intensive Care Unit

Fellows spend a one-month rotation in the Neurocritical Intensive Care Unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. During this rotation, fellows will work with neuro-intensivists (neurologists and neurosurgeons) to provide care to acutely injured/stroke patients learning the initial assessment and management to facilitate optimum neurologic and functional outcomes.

Stroke Rehabilitation Rotation

Fellows spend one month on the Stroke Rehabilitation Service. The goal of this rotation is to learn and review neurovascular anatomy, stroke syndromes and the impact of stroke on functional outcomes. The fellow works with a dedicated Stroke Service Attending Physician.

Day Rehabilitation/Vocational Rehabilitation

Fellows spend one month at a Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Day Rehabilitation site. Patients in this setting have often completed an inpatient rehabilitation stay and are continuing in comprehensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Fellows are responsible for the assessment, development and oversight of ongoing medical issues and therapy plan. Fellows also spend time with vocational counselors with exposure to vocational assessment and return to work planning.

Research Rotation

Fellows have one month dedicated to working on their scholarly activity. On this rotation, they are expected to learn the process and administration of a research project, including the formulation of hypothesis, literature review, IRB application and ethical considerations, data collection, basic statistical analysis, results interpretation and dissemination activities. 

Outpatient Brain Injury Clinic

Fellows participate in weekly outpatient clinics several half-days each week. In this setting, fellows will be exposed to long-term continuity of care for the brain-injured population. Fellows will be responsible for the assessment and ongoing management of medical and rehabilitative needs, including the further initiation of therapy, return to work/school/driving and issues of medical management such as spasticity. In this setting, fellows will also be exposed to individuals predominantly served in the outpatient setting, such as those with mild TBI/concussion.

Procedure Training

Focused training and experience are provided in the performance of interventional procedures, predominantly for the treatment of spasticity. These include neurolytic and intramuscular injections, intrathecal pump management, and others. Together with the attending physician, the fellow is involved in assessment, planning treatment, and addressing complications.

Brain Injury Medicine Consultation Service

The fellow performs the initial assessment on all requested brain injury consultations at our affiliated acute care hospital, Northwestern Memorial. The fellow is responsible for assessment of medical issues, impairments, and potential complications. The fellow is also responsible for developing a treatment plan, including interventions to patient complications, initial therapy recommendations, functional goals and appropriate post-acute setting for rehabilitation. Each consultation is staffed with one of the core attending physicians certified in brain injury medicine.

Elective Rotations

Each fellow is scheduled for two elective months during their 12-month fellowship. This allows trainees to direct their education toward areas of interest or toward areas for which additional clinical exposure is desired. A wide variety of elective rotations are available through resources at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, the core residency program in PM&R, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, or in educational programs at Northwestern University through Graduate Medical Education.

Didactic Education

There is a well-developed comprehensive didactic training curriculum in this program. The fellow meets weekly in a one-on-one formal with the Program Director to discuss a single topic related to brain injury each week. The interactive nature of this experience enriches the quality of the training, and the comprehensive nature of the curriculum enable the fellow to learn the totality of brain injury care.

Additional Unique Experiences

A scholarly activity requirement is supported by extensive resources to facilitate the successful conduct of a research project by the fellow.

A monthly Fellow Seminar is directed by the Department Chair and attended by all of the Fellows in the Department to facilitate professional development of the Fellow.

The NUFSM Department of PM&R has several optional “specialty training tracks”, including the Medical Education Track, Patient Safety and Quality Improvement rack, and Leadership Track, each of which can enrich the Fellow’s training experience for those who wish to participate.

Eligible candidates will have successfully completed a residency and be board-eligible or board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation or in neurology. Preference will be given to physiatrists.

For convenience, the Brain Injury Fellowship is now using the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).  Through ERAS, applicants will be expected to submit a personal statement, curriculum vita, board scores, medical school transcripts and three reference letters. 

Application acceptance start date is July 1. The deadline is Oct. 1. We reserve the right to close the application process early if an appropriate candidate is identified. Interviews for fellow candidates generally take place in October and November.   

We participate in the National Resident Matching Program. Match rank lists are usually due at the end of November, with the Match taking place in Mid-December. Please visit the NRMP site for more information.

Housestaff training through McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University provides diverse and challenging clinical experiences and world-class education located in the heart of the beautiful city of Chicago. Learn more via the links to the McGaw website below.

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