About the Program

Greetings. I am pleased to welcome you to the Neurology Residency Program at Methodist Neurological Institute. We are proud of the quality training that is provided and the caliber of our current resident trainees.

Much of what makes Methodist ranked among the top institutions for neurology training is the patient population, the faculty, and its leading role in making  advances in translational research and treatment.

The Methodist Hospital is located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, which remains the largest in the world. Based on its location, its collaborative reach extends far beyond the limit of its walls.  There is an extensive collaborative network between physicans, researchers, and institutions that provides great opportunities for trainees in all aspects of neurology, including medical care, research, and academics.

The departmental faculty has over fifty cumulative years of experience training and mentoring residents, fellows, and post doctoral graduates who have become heads of departments, industry, and research worldwide. The chair, Stanley H. Appel, MD, is a world renowned expert in the treatment and study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He also remains hands on with resident training and pushes the residents to excel beyond the standards of knowledge and clinical approache. Likewise, the clinical practice and research of the faculty covers the breadth of neurology from neurodegenerative diseases, vascular neurology, epilepsy/sleep medicine, neuromuscular medicine, movement disorders and spasticity, pain/headache, language disorders, and neuroimmunology. Trainees also have formal experiences with other noteworthy faculty in neurosurgery, Neuro ICU, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, pediatric neurology, and a host of formal and non-formal elective experiences. Thus our residents experience a well rounded training at Methodist which establishes a strong foundation in neurology and opportunities to build upon that foundation in specific area(s) of interest.

The mission of the Neurological Institute is to push advances in patient care and education, but also translational research. The institution is committed to support and sponsor independent and collaborative research in a wide variety of areas. This has led to granting opportunities for faculty, fellows, and residents to build careers in research as independent investigators. It has also led to the recruitment of additional experts in the fields of epilepsy, sleep medicine, neuro-ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and interventional neuro-radiology.

This mission is not limited to faculty but is incorporated into the structure of the residency training program. Residents have two months of research during their PGY3 or PGY 4 years of training. This ensures that residents have first hand exposure to the scientific method, data analysis, and grant and paper writing to identify the opportunities and limitations of research in the context of therapy and management of neurological diseases.  It also provides a starting point for those residents who are interested in academic-research career paths.

In conclusion, the Methodist Neurology Residency program provides a training experience that fully encompasses all aspects of neurology in an atmosphere that supports and encourages initiative, scholarship, and success.

Thank you for your interest in our program. For those planning to apply, please refer to ‘Applicant Eligibility’ and ‘Applying to our Program’ on our website for specific information. Interviews will be offered to those applicants with an impressive record of academic performance and recommendations which clearly affirm the candidate’s caliber. 

I wish you the best in your endeavors for the future.

Sincerely,

Ericka P. Simpson, MD
Education Director