For those with a clear sense of their direction and interests, as well as for those still exploring their career options within child neurology, our program pathways offer opportunities to pursue career interests from early in your training. You may choose (but are not required) to join one or more of our pathways.

All pathways share some common elements, including quarterly meetings, journal clubs, invited speakers, and workshops. Residents in the general pediatrics portion of their training (i.e. PGY-1 and PGY-2) are welcome to attend.

Pathways

Global neurology

Boston Children’s has a strong global neurology program. Individuals inclined to global health work can begin to travel to our various sites and ongoing engagements during their PGY-2 year, but it is anticipated that most of the time on site will be during the above-noted call-free electives. Financial support is available.

We have a vibrant videoconferencing relationship with several programs globally and have shared clinical conferences bimonthly with our partners.

Archana Patel, MD, MPH, is the key faculty member for this track, aided by

Maitreyi Mazumdar, MD, MPH.

Medical education

While we anticipate that most of our graduates will go on to careers in academic medicine and therefore will be involved in medical education and teaching, we recognize that for some graduates, this will be the hallmark of their academic career and development.

The medical education pathway allows students to hone their teaching skills, develop curriculum, and engage in the beginnings of educational research in child neurology.

Most students in this pathway apply for the Harvard Macy Institute medical educator training program, which can readily be incorporated into the call-free elective time note, as well as the Boston Children’s Hospital Academy of Teaching and Educational Innovation and Scholarship.

Miya Bernson-Leung, MD, EdM, is a key faculty member for this pathway

David Urion, MD, FAAN is a key faculty member for this pathway

Agnieszka.Kielian, MD is a key faculty member for this pathway

Public policy and health services research

We have a strong presence in the public policy and health services sphere, which includes ongoing faculty projects in health care delivery to children with significant medical complexity, our development of new models of shared care for children with complex needs, and outreach to community health centers in urban and rural settings (the latter through our partnership with Baystate Medical Center). We are just a block down the road from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and many of our residents and faculty engage in opportunities available through this connection.

Individuals in this pathway have presented their work at national and international meetings and are actively shaping policy at the national, state, and local levels.

Stephanie Donatelli is a key faculty member in this pathway.

Christina Briscoe Abath MD, EdM is a key faculty member in this pathway.

Laboratory and clinical research

This pathway permits individuals to pursue a career in laboratory or clinical investigation throughout their training, without the interruption in continuity that a neuroscience year produces (i.e., a system where one has a concentrated 12 months for research, and then no opportunities to return to research over the ensuing 36 months). It is anticipated that the PGY-3 experience would allow for sampling of various labs in the department and the surrounding institutions to find a “fit,” and then begin to pursue a research path.

Many in this pathway pursue the R25 research program, in which we collaborate with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Neurology. We have a strong track record of individuals being successful in their R25 applications, given the mentoring and support we provide.

Mustafa Sahin, MD, PhD, is a key faculty member for this pathway.

Kiran Maski, MD, PhD is a key faculty member in this pathway

Alexander Cohen, MD, PhD is a key faculty member of this pathway

General child neurology clinician pathway

Residents in this pathway will develop advising and mentoring relationships with role model outpatient faculty from across the main campus and satellites. The pathway will foster a community within the residency with shared interests in excellence in general clinical care, including issues such as access, equity, quality, and cost-consciousness in clinical practice. In addition to advice from faculty mentors and invited guests, sessions will include skill development by subject matter experts in general practice topics such as navigating Early Intervention and special education, rehabilitative and behavioral therapy services, health care finances, and career advancement and promotion for general clinicians. Especially as they advance through residency, residents in this pathway are encouraged to share their knowledge with others in the pathway and the residency through co-leadership of the pathway skill-building sessions above or PGY5 talks in the core curriculum. They are encouraged to take advantage of relevant teaching opportunities such as resident clinic precepting, teaching sessions with the BCRP on neurology topics for general pediatricians, and community outreach such as teaching about neuroscience topics in local schools or pipeline programs. Pathway members may choose to do projects relevant to quality, advocacy, etcetera but scholarly output is not a requirement or primary focus of this pathway. Residents in this pathway are encouraged to discuss with program leadership ways to customize their clinical training. Examples might include longitudinal continuity clinic at a satellite location (transportation support may be available) with a general child neurologist preceptor throughout all three years of residency, shifting some inpatient service requirements towards more general services such as floor and ED consults, as feasible within schedule constraints, targeting OPR and elective time towards outpatient experiences focused on high-yield topics such as behavioral neurology, headache, uncomplicated epilepsy, EEG reading. Residents are also encouraged to attend the Bresnan Child Neurology Course, the Lunch-and-Learn series for ambulatory faculty, and the AAN and CNS annual meetings for which travel funding may be available. 

Lara Morse, MD is one of the key faculty members for this pathway.

Jennifer C. Hanowell, DO is the other key faculty member for this pathway.