Program Overview

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Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship Program

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation offers a one-year ACGME accredited fellowship in Brain Injury Medicine (BIM). UTSW Medical Center is part of the North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems.

Program Overview

The fellowship offers a breadth of clinical and non-clinical learning opportunities, including:

• Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation/Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit
  • Zale Lipshy Pavilion--William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital
  • Parkland Memorial Hospital
• Consultative Services at both University Hospitals and Parkland Memorial Hospital (Level 1 Trauma Center)
• Outpatient Clinics:
  • Stroke and Non-traumatic brain injury Rehabilitation
  • Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation
  • Botulinum Toxin Injection Clinic
  • Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy Clinic
  • Interdisciplinary Concussion Clinic
  • Number of specialty clinics including but not limited to: Headache Medicine, Clinical Neurophysiology, Epilepsy, Neuromuscular medicine, Vascular Neurology, Sleep Medicine, Movement Disorders, Behavioral Neurology, Neuro-oncology, Neuroimmunology, and Autonomic Disorders clinic
• Neuropsychology
• Neuroradiology
• Post-Acute rehabilitation
  • Pate Rehabilitation
  • Centre for Neuro Skills Rehabilitation
• Dedicated Fellow lecture series
• Quarterly Acquired Brain Injury Journal Club
• Opportunities to attend and provide lectures for TBI and Stroke support groups
• Dedicated Research Time with research mentorship
• Teaching opportunities to medical students, residents, and staff
• Opportunities within the North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System

Fellowship Objectives

UT Southwestern Medical Center's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department's Brain Injury Medicine fellowship is for highly motivated and inquisitive physicians interested in perfecting their education and skills in the field of Brain Injury Medicine.

The end result of the one-year fellowship will be a physician who is an expert in the epidemiology and nature of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and management of mild TBI/concussion. The fellow will be exposed to a continuum of care using the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Model including acute brain injury trauma at a Level I trauma center, acute inpatient rehabilitation, and community reintegration/residential transitional brain injury programs. The fellow will also learn about cognitive programs, neuropsychological testing and support, and vocational rehabilitation services, as well as traditional occupational, physical, and speech therapies. Expertise in advanced spasticity management and techniques, including botulinum toxin and intrathecal baclofen pump management, will be mastered upon graduation.

The fellow is expected to participate in ongoing research during the one year via protected time and formal education in the principles of study design, performance, data analysis, and reporting results.

Application Process

Fellows must have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited program or an RCPSC-accredited program located in Canada in one of the following: child neurology, neurology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, or sports medicine. Candidates must be board-eligible or board-certified at the time of application.

The Brain Injury Medicine fellowship at UT Southwestern Medical Center participates in the NRMP Fellowship Match.

Benefits

Benefit Programs include medical, dental, vision, supplemental life, AD&D insurance, long-term care insurance, flexible spending accounts and retirement.

An educational stipend is available for the fellow to use for approved conferences, travel, courses, books, or board exam reimbursement.

Teaching Faculty

• Department Chair: Heakyung Kim, M.D.
• Program Director: Benjamin Nguyen, M.D.
• Assistant Program Director: Amy Mathews, M.D.
• Surendra Barshikar, M.D.
• Fatma Gul, M.D.
• Nneka Ifejika, M.D., M.P.H.
• Christine Johnson, M.D.
• Anjali Shah, M.D.
• John Thottakara, M.D.