Neurology 673

Valley Medical Center

Neuroscience Institute
Northwest Pavilion, First Floor
400 South 43rd St.
Renton, WA 98055
Ph 425-690-3585

Site Director: David Vossler, MD
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Clinic Supervisor:  Lisa Korbuszewski
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Ph 425-690-3585 x3083
Fax 425-690-9585

PRE-ARRIVAL PAPERWORK

At least 4 weeks prior to the start of your clerkship, please send the following information to Lisa Korbuszewski so that she can set you up for computer access and badging.

• VALLEY PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY & SECURITY
• VALLEY HIPAA TRAINING
• Letter of Good Standing (LOGS):  Required for this site.  Please go to your E*Value profile and download the LOGS to send.  Instructions if needed.

Orienation, First Day & What To Bring

Clerkship orientation: Online.  You will receive an email the week before you start.

First day: Report to Neuroscience Institute at Valley Medical Center.  Campus map.  If you take the sky bridge from the 3^rd floor of the parking garage, you will follow the signs to the Neuroscience Clinic front desk in the Northwest Pavilion.  Let the front desk know you are meeting with Lisa Korbuszewski and they will call Lisa or her designee to come out to the waiting area to meet you. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Equipment to bring: White coat and name tag, reflex hammer, tuning fork (128Hz), stethoscope, (Ophthalmoscope recommended).

Course Requirements

Pocket syllabus: A “pocket syllabus”, referenced in the orientation video, will be available at your site or first didactics.  A printable (PDF) version is also available on the Pocket Syllabus page.

Didactics: Didactics take place on Thursdays, 1:00-4:00PM at the UW. The room schedule and details are on the Didactics page. Room information may change at the end of each rotation, so be sure to check the table the weekend before you begin.

Cases: Two case write-ups are due each week. The clerkship director will email the assigned case numbers to you on or before the first day of the clerkship. Further information is available in the orientation video and on the Cases page. Please note that the first cases are due on the first Thursday of your clerkship by 1:00PM Pacific fime.

Patient log: You are required to log in the patients you have seen each week. The log is described in the clerkship orientation video. Additional details are on the Patient Log page.

Clinical & Bioethical CEX exercises: You are required to do both a clinical and a bioethical mini-CEX for this course. See the Mini-CEX page for details.

Presentations: Presentation requirements are described in the orientation video and are available on the Presentations page.

Final exam: The scheduling/notification process runs through UW Testing Services and the contact email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. See the Final Exam page for information about the exam.

Site Expectations

General:  Students are expected to spend four and one-half days per week at UW Medicine | Valley Medical Center.   One-half day is reserved for didactics at UW.

The best place to park is garages C and D. Please park above the 4^th level as levels 1-4 are for patients.

The dress code for the site is professional wearing white coat with nametag.

Faculty: During the 4-weeks we hope you have exposure to the entire faculty in our neurology practice.

Dr. Vossler is the clerkship site director.  He will observe the student's performance of the neurological examination within the first two weeks of the rotation, and provide feedback.  Hopefully, this will happen in the last 2 weeks, as well, to ensure mastery of the neurological examination.  The clinical mini-CEX can be performed with Dr. Vossler or any of the clinic preceptors.  Harborview Medical Center teleconferences and Epilepsy Multidisciplinary Team Conferences occur on Wednesday noon – 1 PM and should be attended by the student.  Stacy Simpson is the clinic manager who has control of the schedules and is a good resource.  Please tell the site director if you have any specific goals for the month so that your experience is optimized.

Inpatient experience: Our neurology team has a busy consultative inpatient service.  Students are expected to see 2-5 inpatients per week on average. The student is expected to follow their assigned patient from time of consultation until discharge or the resolution of the consult issue, write daily progress notes, and be involved in ordering medication, laboratory and diagnostic testing orders for the assigned patients.  A reasonable guideline is to follow 1-3 patients at any time.  There are no weekend or night call responsibilities.

Clinic experience: A combination of three different learning models will be employed in clinic.  In the autonomous model, the student sees the patient first and then presents to the preceptor.  In the shadow model, the student will follow the preceptor and observe different patient interaction styles.  The final model allows the student to evaluate the patient, but in the presence of the preceptor, which definitely provides the opportunity for the most thorough feedback.  Each has its strengths and weaknesses.  Other opportunities include observing / reading EMGs, EEGs, evoked potentials, lumbar punctures, imaging procedures, etc.  Experience with a neurosurgeon or neuropsychologist can be arranged during the month.  Clinic typically runs from 8AM to 5 PM. There are no weekend or night clinic responsibilities.

Except for the faculty call schedule and vacations, your weekly schedule will look similar to this.