Overview - Yale Neurology Residency

Yale University
School of Medicine
Department of Neurology
P.O. Box 208018
New Haven, CT
06520-8018

Welcome from the Neurology Residency Program Director

Dear Applicants:

I would like to extend a warm welcome to you from the Yale Neurology Residency Program. There are many excellent neurology programs across the country, and it can be a daunting task to differentiate them. On this website you will learn about the rotations and educational opportunities available to residents in our program. We hope that this information will teach you what we already know - that our program is a uniquely attractive place to receive neurology training.

First and foremost, our program offers clinical excellence, with comprehensive training in all aspects of neurology. Yale-New Haven Hospital is the community hospital for the New Haven area, a large urban/suburban/rural region with a diverse population, and our physicians provide care to a large number of patients who present for the first time with every variety of neurological illness. There are also many patients referred to our highly respected subspecialists for second or third opinions. Thus, our department cares for an approximately equal mixture of primary and tertiary care neurology, and our neurology residents are involved in the care of all of these patients. Residents receive personal supervision and are provided with one-on-one teaching by gifted neurology faculty. When residents complete their training they are fully capable of independent practice as competent neurologists.

Another strength is that our program recognizes that not all residents share the same career goals. For that reason, we are committed to helping each resident to identify and achieve his or her individual career goals. We do this through a formal faculty/resident mentoring program, and by allowing residents to assist in scheduling their own rotation schedules. To reach their goals, we provide residents with 3 months of elective time in each of the last two years of residency. Our philosophy is embodied in the recent policy of the ACGME (www.acgme.org) titled “Flexible Training in Neurology,” although we have already had such a program in place for more than 10 years. By identifying each resident’s career goals early in their training, we can help them to schedule appropriate electives, to start early to investigate fellowship opportunities, to make professional contacts, and to learn about future jobs.

A third strength of our program is the intellectual environment at Yale University. There is no program that provides more academic opportunities or greater availability of neuroscience research, from clinical trials to international health care to basic science research. For those interested in an academic career, you will find a smorgasbord of options to choose from, and many accomplished investigators who will teach you the skills you need to be successful in academics. 53% of graduates of Yale Neurology from the last 20 years are now on the faculty of medical schools, and many former graduates are now section chiefs or department chairs.

Finally, Yale University is a uniquely collegial and interactive environment, and residents in our program are treated as valuable members of our department. Many of the improvements in our curriculum over the years have come from suggestions of our residents. This collegiality leads to a strong bond with our prior graduates. Although they are highly competitive for the best post-graduate programs in the world, many of our residents remain at Yale for further training after their residency or stay on as faculty. This is also a testament to the attractiveness of living in the New Haven area. Life on the Connecticut shoreline is a wonderful experience, with beautiful coastal and forest scenery, protected from everyday big city hassles, but with the convenience of short day trips to New York City or Boston. The cost of living here is reasonable enough that most of our residents are able to afford to buy their own houses. No wonder many residents choose to stay.

I invite you to explore this website to learn more about the educational and academic opportunities available in our program, and I encourage you to consider applying for your neurology residency training at Yale.

Sincerely,

George B. Richerson, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology
Program Director, Yale Neurology Residency