Neurology Residency
Mission & Vision
Our mission is threefold—to provide unparalleled patient care; to develop a deeper understanding and expanded knowledge of neurological disease, including epidemiology, pathophysiology and therapeutics and to foster the development of the next generation of neurologists and neuroscientists into competent and exemplary independent practitioners and academicians.
Mission & Vision
Our mission is threefold—to provide unparalleled patient care; to develop a deeper understanding and expanded knowledge of neurological disease, including epidemiology, pathophysiology and therapeutics and to foster the development of the next generation of neurologists and neuroscientists into competent and exemplary independent practitioners and academicians.
Program Director’s Welcome
We would like to thank you, on behalf of the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, for your interest in our program. As part of the University of Miami/Jackson Health System, we are one of the largest neurology residency programs in the United States, with 42 residents and 20 fellows, providing training in a nationally and internationally utilized referral center, with 80+ clinical and research faculty serving Miami, the Caribbean, Latin America and beyond. All clinical subspecialties of neurology are well represented in our department, providing exposure to our residents, fellows and medical students, and mentorship from world-class teachers and clinicians across the spectrum of neurology.
Residents, fellows and rotating medical students train across three hospitals, Jackson Memorial Hospital, UHealth Tower and the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The strategic location and ethnic melting pot of South Florida, as well as the magnetic attraction of unique neurological conditions to Jackson Memorial Hospital, home to Ryder Trauma Center – the leading adult and pediatric Level I trauma center in Miami-Dade County, provides our trainees with the full range of nervous system pathologies from bread-and-butter cases to “zebras,” with enough volume to provide ample learning opportunities. Our neuroscience intensive care unit has 28 beds, and is housed in the state-of-the-art UHealth/Jackson Critical Care Pavilion at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The unit has many neurological diagnoses; including, but not limited to, cerebral and spinal trauma; cerebrovascular disease; neuromuscular emergencies; severe demyelination and status epilepticus. Upon completion of our training program, graduating neurologists will be well equipped to tackle any clinical challenge. The depth and breadth of clinical exposure make our hospital system an ideal place to train.
Program Director’s Welcome
We would like to thank you, on behalf of the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, for your interest in our program. As part of the University of Miami/Jackson Health System, we are one of the largest neurology residency programs in the United States, with 42 residents and 20 fellows, providing training in a nationally and internationally utilized referral center, with 80+ clinical and research faculty serving Miami, the Caribbean, Latin America and beyond. All clinical subspecialties of neurology are well represented in our department, providing exposure to our residents, fellows and medical students, and mentorship from world-class teachers and clinicians across the spectrum of neurology.
Residents, fellows and rotating medical students train across three hospitals, Jackson Memorial Hospital, UHealth Tower and the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The strategic location and ethnic melting pot of South Florida, as well as the magnetic attraction of unique neurological conditions to Jackson Memorial Hospital, home to Ryder Trauma Center – the leading adult and pediatric Level I trauma center in Miami-Dade County, provides our trainees with the full range of nervous system pathologies from bread-and-butter cases to “zebras,” with enough volume to provide ample learning opportunities. Our neuroscience intensive care unit has 28 beds, and is housed in the state-of-the-art UHealth/Jackson Critical Care Pavilion at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The unit has many neurological diagnoses; including, but not limited to, cerebral and spinal trauma; cerebrovascular disease; neuromuscular emergencies; severe demyelination and status epilepticus. Upon completion of our training program, graduating neurologists will be well equipped to tackle any clinical challenge. The depth and breadth of clinical exposure make our hospital system an ideal place to train.
Educating neurology residents and medical students is one of the pillars of our program. We are recognized annually by the medical school, voted for by the students, for the quality of education provided by our medical student clerkship. We provide a formalized teaching curriculum, which includes a biweekly “morning report” where residents are given the opportunity to present difficult cases to senior faculty renowned for their teaching style and clinical pearls, bedside teaching with incredible clinician-educators, a didactic noon lecture series at least four days per week, plus numerous additional learning opportunities and conferences throughout the workweek. We are proud of the work our entire team contributes to the program, which shows in our 100 percent board pass rate and 100 percent fellowship match records.
We would be remiss without mentioning how great it is to live in Miami, as a proper work-life balance is integral to a successful residency. South Florida is a vibrant growing area that offers an exceptional lifestyle and many opportunities.
Activities include year-round swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing, snorkeling, tennis, golf and many outdoor sports for enjoyment and relaxation.
The greater metropolitan area including Miami and surrounding Miami-Dade County has a population of more than 2.75 million. The area has all of the cultural and sporting facilities one expects to find in large population centers and much more. These include symphony, ballet, opera, theaters and museums, as well as zoological and botanical centers. There are professional teams in baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey and soccer. The University of Miami also has outstanding college teams in baseball, basketball and football. Abundantly diverse restaurants, stores and services of all types are to be found throughout the area. There are many fashionable and interesting places to visit and shop, such as Bayside Market Place, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, the Miami Design District, South Beach and Wynwood. You are just a car ride away to top vacation areas such as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, the Florida Gulf Coast, Key West, Orlando-Walt Disney World and more.
-Letica Tornes, MD, FAAN
Description
We would be remiss without mentioning how great it is to live in Miami, as a proper work-life balance is integral to a successful residency. South Florida is a vibrant growing area that offers an exceptional lifestyle and many opportunities.
Activities include year-round swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing, snorkeling, tennis, golf and many outdoor sports for enjoyment and relaxation.
The greater metropolitan area including Miami and surrounding Miami-Dade County has a population of more than 2.75 million. The area has all of the cultural and sporting facilities one expects to find in large population centers and much more. These include symphony, ballet, opera, theaters and museums, as well as zoological and botanical centers. There are professional teams in baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey and soccer. The University of Miami also has outstanding college teams in baseball, basketball and football. Abundantly diverse restaurants, stores and services of all types are to be found throughout the area. There are many fashionable and interesting places to visit and shop, such as Bayside Market Place, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, the Miami Design District, South Beach and Wynwood. You are just a car ride away to top vacation areas such as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, the Florida Gulf Coast, Key West, Orlando-Walt Disney World and more.
-Letica Tornes, MD, FAAN
Fast Facts
Accreditation
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
Number of Residents per Year?
11-12
Duration of Residency?
4 years
(Year 1 is an internship in internal medicine)
Program Curriculum
Throughout residency, regularly scheduled educational conferences are held. A neuroradiology conference is held three times per week. During “Morning Report” (twice per week), weekly “Bedside Teaching,” and monthly “Professor’s Rounds,” residents have the opportunity to formally present interesting and difficult cases to senior faculty renowned for teaching clinical reasoning and proving clinical pearls. Three days per week, we have an ongoing didactic lecture series. We have journal club once per week and on Fridays, we have “Grand Rounds,” a “QA” conference (our version of a surgical M&M) or a “Clinicopathological Case Presentation.”
Year 1 (Internship)
Trainees will predominantly rotate with our internal medicine colleagues through inpatient and outpatient settings. Two months will be spent on Neurology rotations including the inpatient consult service, the inpatient stroke service and the neuroscience intensive care unit. During this year, trainees should develop a strong foundation in internal medicine which is very important in being a successful neurology resident.
Year 2
The second-year represents your first year as a full-time neurology resident. Residents rotate through the Jackson Memorial Hospital stroke service, inpatient general neurology service and neuroscience intensive care unit; the epilepsy service at UHealth Tower and the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Residents start working in their outpatient continuity clinics at the Jackson Memorial Hospital Ambulatory Care Center and they evaluate patients at Miami VA Healthcare System outpatient clinics.
Year 3
This year is dominated by the Jackson Memorial Hospital neurohospitalist consult service. Residents complete a four week neuromuscular/EMG rotation. Most residents will have their first exposure to pediatric neurology in the clinic and hospital setting, and most residents will have eight weeks of elective time. Residents will continue to see patients in the Jackson Memorial Hospital Ambulatory Care Centerand Miami VA Healthcare System outpatient clinics.
Year 4
Fourth-year residents serve as chief residents with a greater degree of independence in formulating plans for patients encountered and have a primary responsibility for the education of the junior residents and students on the team. Residents will complete their pediatric neurology rotations, a rotation in psychiatry and epilepsy, and will have approximately 12 weeks of elective rotations. Residents will continue to see patients in the Jackson Memorial Hospital Ambulatory Care Center and Miami VA Healthcare System outpatient clinics.
Your Faculty
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Associate Director, Neurology Residency Program
Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN, FANA
Professor and Chairman, Neurology Department
Letica Tornes, MD, FAAN
Associate Professor, Clinical Neurology
Director, Neurology Residency Program
Nicole Sur, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Associate Director, Neurology Residency Program
Your Faculty
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Associate Director, Neurology Residency Program
Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, FAHA, FAAN, FANA
Professor and Chairman, Neurology Department
Letica Tornes, MD, FAAN
Associate Professor, Clinical Neurology
Director, Neurology Residency Program
Nicole Sur, MD
Assistant Professor, Clinical Neurology
Associate Director, Neurology Residency Program
Notable Alumni
Joseph R. Berger, MD
1981
Chief, Multiple Sclerosis Division, Perelman School of Medicine
Professor, Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Alejandro A. Rabinstein, MD
2001
Professor, Neurology, Mayo Clinic