About WVU Neurology Residency Training
Explore WVU Neurology
Welcome to the Neurology Residency Program at West Virginia University! We appreciate your interest in our program. This is an extraordinary time to begin your training as a neurologist, as the field is rapidly expanding with new groundbreaking diagnostic and therapeutic interventions that allow us to care for our patients. Whether your interests focus on guiding disease-modifying therapy for patients with autoimmune or neuromuscular disorders or mapping seizure locus to find a potential cure to your patient’s epilepsy, our program will provide you ample opportunities to develop into a strong clinical and academic neurologist as well as facilitate your desire to explore your personal interests.
The WVU residency training program in neurology is the only categorical training program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) within the state. The program offers 8 categorical positions with training for a total of 48 months. As such, all residents will complete 12 months of their intern year in Internal Medicine at Ruby Memorial Hospital followed by 36 months of Neurology training. We strive to provide a balanced and comprehensive inpatient and outpatient training environment with a large patient volume approximating 2,500 inpatient and 22,000 outpatient evaluations for the entire department. This means that in addition to being able to make competent decisions and triage acute stroke activations, our residents have enough experience in in the outpatient setting taking care of common, uncommon and rare conditions with varying pathophysiology.
To briefly illustrate the breadth of our training program, inpatient rotations will consist of General Neurology Ward, Stroke Ward, Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU), pediatric neurology and Neurocritical Care Unit (NCCU). Ruby Memorial Hospital is a Comprehensive Stroke Center and its neurology residents serve as first contact in assessing and making decisions for care of its stroke patients. The NCCU is a part of the larger WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute, which will provide rotators with a breadth of experience in not only neurocritical care, but cross-training in other aspects of critical care and trauma as well (we are a Level 1 Trauma Center). Our NCCU is a 18-bed closed ICU dedicated to serving neurology, neurosurgery, and neurointerventional patients – with full capabilities to perform continuous video-EEG monitoring and multimodal monitoring. Our 6-bed EMU is also staffed entirely by fellowship trained epilepsy faculty who supervise residents and technicians, who are expected to read EEGs in real time and make treatment decisions. This serves not only in ruling out seizure mimics, but in working up patients who are candidates for surgical intervention.
Outpatient training includes longitudinal management of neurology patients through the three years of training in your own Continuity Clinic, where you will be the patient’s principle point of contact. Here you have the opportunity to follow an inpatient during acute illness and transition that patient in your own continuity clinic. There are plenty of elective rotation opportunities in neuromuscular medicine/neuropathology, EEG, EMG (where you will gain experience in performing and interpreting nerve conduction studies and electromyograms), movement disorders, neuroimmunology, headache, neuroophthalmology, neuroradiology, education, research and neurohospitalist.
All rotations are completed at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and its outpatient clinics. This 690-bed academic medical center rests in the heart of Morgantown, WV, and serves a large geographic area that encompasses all of West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania, southeastern Ohio, and western Maryland & Virginia. Our health system is rapidly growing to meet the needs of West Virginia and provide exceptional care to its constituents. This is exemplified by recent renovation of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (which houses lab space for bench research in the neurosciences, a fully equipped gym for neurorehabilitation, and next generation neurotherapeutic interventions), the construction of the Heart and Vascular Institute, and groundbreaking on a new Women’s and Children’s Hospital as well as a new Neurology and Neurosurgery Clinics. The neurology department is rapidly expanding as well, with the addition of multiple new faculty over the past couple of years. As a result, we have recently added UCNS certified Headache Fellowship and ACGME approved Vascular Neurology, and Sleep fellowships. We are working to initiate a Neurocritical Care, Epilepsy, and Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowships. This period of growth offers new and exciting opportunities for us to better care for our patients, as well as introduce trainees to a vast array of rare and complex neurological disorders from within West Virginia and neighboring states.
Morgantown itself is a small city of roughly 24,000 inhabitants just 70 miles of highway driving from Pittsburgh, PA. It is nestled in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains that provide opportunities for residents and family to enjoy many outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, white water rafting, and boating. In addition to the hospital and university—which are its major employers—Morgantown’s other notable employers include the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
In summary, we believe the strengths of our program include a broad but balanced experience in outpatient, inpatient, and academic neurology. West Virginia University Medicine is also undergoing explosive growth—both geographically and with respect to our infrastructure—which provides ample opportunities for learning and exploring individual interests. We strive to provide a top-tier training program for our residents in addition to fostering a safe working environment that balances wellbeing and resiliency. In so doing, we aim to produce competent and compassionate neurologists that will be strongly competitive when applying for fellowships or careers. We thank you for your time and hope you will consider WVU Neurology in your application process!
Gauri V. Pawar, MD, FAAN Nathaniel Mohney, MD
Professor & Vice Chair for Education Assistant Professor
Residency Program Director Associate Program Director