7:00 AM 
A new day - I start at morning resident rounds.  During this session, the general neurology and stroke senior residents meet with the residents that were on call to hear about new admissions, consults and other active issues.  Cases are distributed to the appropriate residents.  Depending on the call rotation, I may receive new patients.

7:15 – 9:00 AM
Work rounds - I round on my patients to see how they are doing and review new lab or imaging results.  I also familiarize myself with any new patients and prepare the history and exam presentation.  I discuss any questions with the senior resident (the “ward boss”) on my service.  On the general neurology service, I am likely to have a wide variety of cases.  I may be caring for someone with an acute myasthenia gravis exacerbation, progressive MS receiving chemotherapy, Guillan-Barre syndrome, brain tumor, chronic meningitis or neurosarcoidosis – just to list a few…  I’m also likely to see patients that have strange, undiagnosed neurological disorders. Most of my patients are on the 8th floor at Parkland hospital where the nurses and staff are all experienced in taking care of neurology patients.  A few of my patients are located at Zale-Lipshy University hospital (which is connected to Parkland through a corridor).

9:00 – 12:00
Attending rounds - Our team is comprised of two to three junior residents and one senior resident.  There are also usually one or two psychiatry or neurosurgery interns rotating with the ward service.  We also have 3 to 4 medical students doing their neurology clerkship.  Some of the medical students are assigned to help me with my patients.  Teaching and supervising the students helps me to hone my neurology skills.  During attending rounds, we review the diagnosis and treatment plans for our patients and learn under the direction of our attending faculty.

12:10 – 1:00
Noon conference.  The core lecture series (on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) is a 18-month course curriculum designed to cover all of the main areas in neurology, including neurological emergencies, neuromuscular, stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, pediatric neurology, evidence based medicine, medical ethics, business and career planning, etc…  On Wednesdays, we have grand rounds with the whole department.  This is a time to hear a visiting professor or one of our own faculty.  On Friday, noon conference is focused on neuroanatomy and board review.  During these sessions, we review a weekly reading assignment. This is a great opportunity to unwind and chat with my classmates at the end of the week.

1:00 PM
Back to the hospital to finish any remaining business.  This might be some additional rounds with the attending or following up the necessary work-up and paper work on my patients.   I may also evaluate new consultations that may have been requested throughout the day.
One afternoon each week, I have my Parkland Continuity Clinic.  Continuity clinic is an opportunity for me to serve as the primary neurologist for the evaluation and management of my patients throughout all three years of residency.  The clinic patient population is diverse and includes patients with migraine, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, myasthenia gravis, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dystonias (including an opportunity to learn how to administer botox injections).

4:30 PM
The day is nearly done.  The residents meet together to give the on-call resident a check-out of the current patients.  If I am on call, I take the call pager from the emergency room resident and begin to receive calls.  I am now ready to see new patients and handle any urgent consults.  My senior resident is always available by pager to help me with any questions or other issues that I may have.  Plus, my attending (as well as neurosurgeons, neurointerventional radiologists and other specialists) is ready to help with critical patients. 

8:00 PM
During the week, a senior resident if assigned to night float rotation and meets with me to take the call pager and take over the on-call responsibilities for the rest of the night.  I take another hour or so to finish patient evaluations and then head home.

Evening Events
When I’m not on call, we occasionally have a dinner session with the other residents (about once a month).  Sometimes we discuss recent medical literature or other interesting learning topics.  I enjoy the opportunity to learn in a more relaxed, social setting (often with free food in a nice restaurant in town).  We also may have a purely social event (Wernicke Rounds) which are an opportunity to have fun with my other classmates.

That’s my day – can’t wait till tomorrow.     
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