Adult Neurology Residency

Adult Neurology Residency

Global Health

Introduction and Goals

This is a 3 week rotation with the neurology residents and faculty of Addis Ababa University (AAU), under supervision by at least one accompanying faculty of UW Neurology.

By way of background, the  AAU Neurology residency was begun in 2007 with the assistance of academic neurologists from several European Universities, as well as Dr. James Bower of Mayo Clinic Neurology. It has blossomed into a comprehensive training platform, and the most well developed residency of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. We were honored by an invitation to participate in training in 2013, following participation of several UW residency directors in other specialties, notably emergency medicine, surgery, Ob-Gyn, medicine, and pediatrics.

Senior UW Neurology residents engage in both outpatient and inpatient activities, primarily in the role of observers, at the two AAU hospitals: Black Lion (Takur Anbessa) and Crown (Zewditu). Our residents learn to adapt both their clinical skills and diagnostic acumen to an environment of significant resource limitation. Ethiopia is a very poor country, and the awareness garnered from exposure to the highly skilled care of our Ethiopian colleagues in this environment is immensely valuable.

Perhaps the most valuable component of all is the learning of “cultural humility”, wherein our residents – and faculty alike – learn the distinction between our clinical intuition and the rapid gratification of our technology in both diagnosis and treatment of very severe neurological disorders.

We feel honored to have this opportunity, and the experience in terms of technical lessons of neurological disorders as well as cultural enrichment is as valuable as it is unforgettable. 

Objectives and Evaluation Matrix

As with all of the neurology rotations, the specific objectives are reflected in the entrustable professional activities and individual milestones listed below. These form the basis for the end-of-rotation evaluation. (Please see the section End-of-Rotation Evaluations above for the list of milestone abbreviations).

Rotation Objectives
Upon completion of the curriculum, residents will . . .
#DescriptionMilestones
1Evaluate and manage tropical infectious diseasesPC1, PC2, PC3, PC4, PC5, PC8, MK1, MK2
2Describe the impact of extreme poverty and nutritional deprivation on disease susceptability and presentationSP3, SP4
3Direct the diagnostic evaluation of disease in a resource-limited environmentMK2, SP3, SP4
4Collaborate with international colleagues in patient care and on lectures and grand roundsPR1, IC3, IC4
5Demonstrate competence in adapting to a different cultureSP3, SP4, PL2, PR1, IC2
Additional Milestones
Please grade the resident on any of the following milestones you were able to evaluate during this rotation:
PR2, IC1
Comments
Comments are visible both to residents and the Clinical Competency Committee
 

Schedule

The morning begins with morning report followed by a 1 hour lecture on a topic selected by either a UW or AAU neurology resident. Rounds at one of the hospitals then goes until noon; the residents are split up so that they attend these or an outpatient clinic. These roles are then reversed the following day. In both situations, our residents gain immensely from exposure to a variety of neurological conditions and tropical infectious diseases they would seldom see here; while the AAU residents gain from learning approaches of the higher technology we apply to our own approaches.

Work Hours

The estimated average number of work hours per week is ~ 30. There are no call responsibilities required during this rotation.

 

Suggested References

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Latest revision: 5-14-2021