Clerkship

The Neurology Department offers third-year medical students a four-week traditional clerkship in neurology at the campus sites of Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks utilizing clinical faculty members.

Third-year students on the Minot Campus receive neurology education over three months by participating in an integrated longitudinal curriculum. The four core objectives for the neurology clerkship are to:

1. Learn to perform a complete neurologic examination.
2. Gain an understanding of the presentation, evaluation and treatment of the most common neurologic diseases.
3. Complete a patient write-up, incorporating pertinent neurologic history and examination.
4. Develop an understanding for localization of neurologic disease through history and examination.

Goals and Objectives

four-week syllabus

You will be assigned a preceptor for your four-week rotation. Discuss your schedule with your preceptor. As part of your time in the outpatient clinic, we will schedule you two patients to interview, examine, and present. You will compose a formalized write-up about each patient to be presented and discussed with your preceptor as part of your overall evaluation. The preceptor evaluation is worth 60 percent of your final grade. You will also partake in didactic lectures, inpatient teaching rounds, and outpatient teaching. 

The Department will loan you Blueprints: Neurology and Case Files Neurology to prepare for the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Neurology Subject Exam given on the final day of your four-week rotation. The exam will constitute 40 percent of your Neurology grade. The NBME passing score is equal to or greater than 57 Equated Percent Correct. You must pass the exam to pass the clerkship.

At the end of the clerkship, you will be notified via LEO to complete the “Student Evaluation of Clerkship” and “Student Evaluation of Preceptor.” Your preceptor will complete the “Preceptor of Assessment of Student Performance."

Required Cases

Students will observe or participate, with faculty supervision, one of each case listed below:

• Cognitive disorders
• Movement disorders
• Epilepsy
• Neuromuscular disease
• Headache
• Cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
• Neuro-immunology (multiple sclerosis)

You will be expected to see at least one case from each of the above categories. Some of these you will be more likely to see in the inpatient setting (cerebrovascular disease), some in the outpatient setting (cognitive disorder), and others may be more ubiquitous (headache). Case Files Neurology, 3rd ed. can be used to supplement your exposure should you find that you were not exposed to one of these clinical categories during your clerkship. Please return this book at the end of the clerkship.

Unique Campus Components

Southwest Campus (Bismarck)

Students on the Southwest Campus will spend four weeks on their Neurology rotation at either Sanford Health, CHI St. Alexius Health, or Mid Dakota Clinic. They will spend time with neurologists learning to perform a neurologic examination, gain an understanding of neurologic diseases, and complete a patient write-up incorporating neurologic history and examination. The students will also attend neurologic lectures by the neurologists.

Southeast Campus (Fargo)

1. A student may be assigned to Essentia for four weeks. The student will have both in and out-patient experience.
2. A student may be assigned to Sanford Health for four weeks weeks. The student will spend two weeks in the outpatient clinic and two week in the inpatient setting. During the outpatient week, a student may be assigned to VA AM outpatient clinic.

Northeast Campus (Grand Forks)

Students on the Northeast Campus spend four weeks on their Neurology rotation at Altru Heath. They spend time with neurologists receiving both in and outpatient experience.

Campus Clerkship Directors

• Bahram Nico (Kordlar), M.D. - Minot, ND
• John Riedinger, M.D. - Bismarck, ND
• Cory Edwards, M.D. - Grand Forks, ND
• Dane Breker, M.D. - Fargo, ND