My rotation sites were Parkland Memorial Hospital, Aston Ambulatory Care Center and St Paul’s Hospital. The first week of the rotation was at Aston; a clinic where subspecialty neurology faculty see their private patients. For the whole of this week - under the close supervision of faculty members - I saw a range of complex neurological problems such as movement disorders, epilepsy, headaches, strokes, neuromuscular problems and multiple sclerosis. It was a great learning experience, in which for the most part I played an observational role, and it helped me to understand the way in which the US medical system works.

The second week of the rotation was at EMU in Parkland Hospital. All of the patients either had refractory epilepsy or were admitted for seizure characterization. There was a 24 hour video and EEG recordings of all of the admissions, followed by detailed analyses of their EEG during ictal and interictal period. Some even required an ictal SPECT.

The third week of the rotation was in the stroke unit. Parkland has a very good team in this unit who give the timely evaluation and characterization of strokes. I got to see some patients being given t-pa - something you would definitely not see in India. Mornings in the stroke unit would start at 7.30 with a neuro-radiolgy conference, in which all the imaging studies from the previous day were discussed. After that we would do a round of all of the patients, with the cases being presented by students and residents.

There was excellent didactic teaching with lectures and rounds on Wednesdays with renowned neurology, clinical and research faculty all over the USA. There was also a “live patient conference” by Dr Rosenberg who is the ex- chairman of the department of neurology at UTSW.

The last week of my rotation was at Aston and St. Paul’s outpatient clinics, with most of the time spent in the MS clinic at St. Paul’s.
 
Off Duty
I arrived in the US on 30th December and was picked up from Dallas airport by one of the medical students of UTSW, with whom I made living arrangements. Living with his family was a great experience as everyone was so helpful and supportive, so I really didn’t feel that I was that far away from home.

On New Year’s Eve I joined my roommate and his friends for a house party, and the rest of the month was just as fun. I watched an American football game at a sports bar - the best American experience that I had – and my roommate’s father and his friends organized an all US high school wrestling championship and this was great!

This elective was one of the best experiences I have had in recent times. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shannon (my roommate) and all of his (and now my) friends for making my stay so enjoyable.

Will see you guys next month and until then, enjoy...