Neurology BooksStudent Recommendations: If you need to switch sites, Dr. Fakhouri (clerkship coordinator) lets you switch sites on the day of orientation if there is space. Talk to him in advance if needed.

What Students Said...

Review Books

- Neurology In a PageGreatest book. Covers each disease in a page.

- Blueprints for NeurologyA little simplified but a good overview. Questions at the end were helpful. May want to supplement with another question source as well.

Case Books

- Case Files for NeurologyMade me feel well prepared for this exam. Try to read twice with rapid read through second time 2 days before test.

Question Books

- Pretest for NeurologyQuestions model the SHELF exam questions.

- USMLEWorld QBank (online)Very good.

Fill Your Pockets

- Neurology for House OfficersUseful to look up information on the floors.

- Mini Spiral NotebookJot down notes from the day to jog your memory. You can also write down assignments/tasks and stay organized.

What to Do the Weekend Before/First Few DaysOrganize your books into the different subjects that youd like to focus on. Figure out if you want to read straight through your study materials or organize them differently. Practice a comprehensive neuro exam (opthalmoscope included). This is basically the only exam youll do this month, so know it well! Bring your scopes, tuning forks, Snellen charts and reflex hammers because youll be using them! If you plan on going into neuro, there are some fancy reflex hammers you can look into as well. Neuro involves lots of imaging, so consider reviewing how to read CT and MRI scans and when to use contrast.

Tag along with residents/attendings during the first few days to see how they do things. If youre not seeing patients on your own after a few days with the same residents/attending, show interest and ask if they mind you seeing patients on your own or if they can observe you interviewing/examining the patient.What to Do on the Floors

Your role can vary depending on which site you are at. Try to talk to the attending and residents to see what they expect out of you in the beginning of the rotation. Regardless of whether you see patients on your own or not, see as many patients as you can because you will remember things better.Regardless of what youre doing, ask what is expected of you. It is great if you can get the team to go over some imaging studies with you. You should take the opportunity to learn as much Radiology as you can throughout the year.Be proactive. If someone mentions an interesting neuro finding, ask if you can see the patient to repeat that portion of the exam.

Attendings like presentations and some may ask you to make one. If not, this is a good chance to take initiative and impress them (assuming they have time to set aside for teaching). However, let the other students know. You want to make yourself look good, not make others look bad. Teamwork is important.

Preparing for the Neurology OSCE & SHELF

The neuro OSCE simply involves a resident or attending observing you perform a neuro exam. Youll receive a checklist. Go over it until youre comfortable, then ask an attending or resident you like to observe and evaluate you. The SHELF exam was very long. Learning how to manage long questions stems would be a great idea before taking this exam. Free time is site-dependent so use it wisely. Keep a book in your pocket for down time (Case Files, Pretest, etc) and review cases that you see on the floors. Patients are your best teachers.

Youre likely to have weekends off. This gives enough time to study and have a life.Try to spend some time in the ICU if possible. Youll see a good variety of difficult to manage patients which will come in handy on the shelf.Attend site specific lectures. If an attending specializes in a certain area, show interest and you may be able to get a good lecture out of it.Neurology Site-Specific Advice

SiteWhat Students Said

DRHI was lucky to have some great attending - Dr. Tselis and Dr. Benson. I really liked this experience because I got a lot of bedside teaching, the Neuro ICU week, MRI/coiling of aneurysms, etc.

HarperThere is a lot of downtime so try to keep a book handy so you can read.

St. JoesNot much teaching.

HFHSYou make your own schedule, which can be really great. Can choose from neurosurgery, clinic, ICU, neurophysiology, neuroradiology, consults and you can request to do peds neuro. Must do 1 required week of inpatient. Recommend doing 1 day of neurophys, 1 week of clinic (many great specialty clinics to choose from) and at least a few days of radiology, consults and ICU. Before you go to clinic, check careplus to see if the attending has any patients scheduled (sometimes they go on vacation), and e-mail them a few days ahead of time to let him/her know you are coming. Split up the rest of your time based on your interests. Great teaching with most services. Try to schedule the same activity for at least 3-5 days so you can get to know residents/attendings & possibly take part in patient care. You can choose who you would like to evaluate you (most people chose their inpatient attending b/c you work w/them the most). Dont miss Dr. Silvers lectures, they are great.

Sinai Grace/Southfield OfficeThe attending are all really great. Ask questions if you do not understand something. The office is very busy but if there is some down time, read or if time permits, feel free to request the attending to discuss a topic. You usually get free food too!

Beaumont1 on 1 with attending, only med student in clinic, 8am-5pm.

Useful FormulasUseful Note Templates1) There are templates available on medfools.com (under download section) to help keep track of your patients while on inpatient.2) Maxwells (Yellow Section): Admit/transfer, progress, and discharge notes. Blue section also has a template for complete history and physical.