Residency Program

Welcome to the USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center Neurology Residency! Our residency offers premier training in Neurology by combining the best of two main hospitals in an extraordinary location. The residency is based at Los Angeles General Medical Center, the largest safety net hospital in Los Angeles, which provides medical care to patients with an exceptional range of socioeconomic, cultural and clinical diversity. Keck Hospital of USC is directly adjacent to Los Angeles General Medical Center, and serves as a tertiary and quaternary referral center for complex vascular, critical care, and diagnostically challenging cases. Residents also rotate through Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center and the world-renowned Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) for pediatric neurology training.

While we are a large academic center, the program is able to maintain close communication between faculty, staff and residents, supporting an intimate and collaborative learning environment. We look forward to welcoming you to our USC family and continuing the strong tradition of neurological residency training in Los Angeles!

The USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center Neurology Residency is based at Los Angeles General Medical Center and Keck Hospital of USC. We offer a fully Integrated 4 year program, starting in PGY1 year for our entire matching class. All PGY1 residents rotate equally through Keck Hospital of USC and Los Angeles General Medical Center. PGY1 residents will also rotate through Neurology services at both sites, and participate in weekly Neurology didactics. PGY1-4 Residents are exposed to a tremendous range of clinical opportunities, taking advantage of the relative strengths at both Keck Hospital and Los Angeles General Medical Center. The residency combines excellence in didactic teaching with incredible clinical exposure serving a diverse patient population living in the greater Los Angeles area. Six candidates for the residency program in adult neurology are accepted each year.

Applicants to the neurology residency program must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Please see ERAS website for application requirements and details.

Interview Season

• Interview invitations are sent out via email through ERAS on a rolling basis, with our interview season starting in November and extending through mid- January.
• All interviews this year will be held on Tuesday mornings and conducted virtually, in accordance with local GMEC guidelines. We are also offering several virtual open houses to explore our program further, where you will have an opportunity to meet the Program Director, Associate Program Directors, and Department Chair, as well as ask questions of our current residents.
  • There will be no formal on-campus tours this year due to local and governing body guidelines.  However, if you are in the Los Angeles area, please feel free to swing by and drive through the campus.
  • Introductory Videos
    • Enjoy a brief welcome from the Program Director and Associate Program Directors, and an overview of training at USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center, below:

Program Director Welcome

Interview Day

• The evening prior to your interview day, we will be hosting virtual “happy hours” in which applicants will have the opportunity to interact informally with our residents and fellows.
• During your interview day, you will meet virtually with the Program Director, Assistant Program Directors, and several faculty members and residents.
• We realize you have many choices for training, and appreciate your interest in applying to our residency. Please reach out with any questions. Our goal is to make it an informative and enjoyable process!

Requirements

• We are accepting applications for the 2024-2025 academic year, starting as PGY1 trainees. All applications should be submitted through ERAS and will undergo holistic review by program leadership.  Required documents from the ERAS portal include:  USMLE Transcripts, Medical School Transcripts, Curriculum Vitae, Personal Statement, Letters of Recommendation (3 minimum), and Dean’s Letter/MSPE.
• We welcome international trainees with J1 visa only.

Education

Teaching faculty are all approachable, and enjoy patient care as well as teaching residents and medical students, and serve multiple service weeks per year.

Residents learn directly through patient care responsibilities from the moment they set foot in the hospital. Keck Hospital of USC is a tertiary/quaternary medical center caring for highly complex patients with neuro-critical care, neuro-vascular, diagnostic and treatment needs.  Los Angeles General Medical Center Medical Center is the largest safety-net hospital in Los Angeles with culturally, socio-economically, and medically diverse patients who face problems with health literacy, access to care, transportation, and finances. In addition to the incredible clinical exposure, residents participate in the following regular didactics sessions:

• Thursday didactics: Reserved block from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm, which is protected time for resident learning. Our didactic curriculum includes traditional faculty lectures, simulations, and workshops, as well as the following:
• Monthly journal club: Two residents lead a PowerPoint discussion with faculty moderator
• Morning report: Neurology consult service presents an interesting case from patients currently on service with faculty/senior resident leading the discussion
• Monthly Morbidity/Mortality/Vitality conference: Discussion regarding a case that occurred on service which could have been managed differently, with input from faculty/other senior residents, Also includes a positive Vitality case from the month.
• Tuesday Neurology Grand Rounds: Guest lecturers from other institutions who are experts in the field, as well as from within USC , are invited to share their expertise on current topics in neurology with the neurology department staff and residents, as well as medical students. Residents are also assigned to present cases during Grand Rounds.
• Epilepsy pre-clinic didactics: Before weekly Friday morning epilepsy clinic, residents are assigned to read and present chapter from epilepsy text with input from a faculty moderator. On the last Friday of the month, the neurophysiology fellow gives EEG conference, reviewing recent interesting EEGs
• Neuro-immunology pre-clinic didactics: Neuro-immunology journal club, during which the fellow presents a pre-assigned paper to residents with input from a faculty moderator
• Friday Neuro-radiology rounds: Inpatient teams at Los Angeles General Medical Center review interesting imaging studies with our neuroradiologists, providing clinical information for a multi-disciplinary approach to diagnosis
• Interesting EEG and EMG rounds: A monthly review of interesting EMG, EEG, EMU monitoring cases from both Keck and Los Angeles General Medical Center
• Many subspecialties also hold weekly specialty conferences which welcome resident attendance, including but not limited to: Neuro-vascular conference, Epilepsy consensus conference, Movement disorders journal club and video rounds, DBS academic and consensus conferences, Neurobehavioral journal club, Neurophysiology didactics.

Residency Benefits

• Free parking at all sites
• Meal plan (daily allowances at Los Angeles General Medical Center, Keck, Norris Cancer Hospital; as well as meal reimbursements when at CHLA and RLA)
• AAN membership and Continuum subscription
• Stipend to attend AAN and national meetings, with additional funding for presenting research
• Free Keck electronic library resources: Up to date, pubmed, etc
• Free white coat and scrubs with laundering service
• Dedicated neurology resident call rooms with computer, bed, telephone
• Lactation facilities
• Neurology residents are also part of the LA County Resident Union: Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), which continually strives to improve the condition of resident treatment, benefit, and reimbursement for residents hospital wide.
  • $10,000 annual housing stipend
  • $1,400 educational fund for books and supplies
  • Annual salary increase guarantee

Resident Life

Keck Medical Center and Los Angeles General Medical Center are situated within walking distance of each otherin downtown LA, the heart of Southern California. Rancho Los Amigos and CHLA are within 20 minutes driving distance of the main sites. As most the year is spent at the main hospital sites, many residents choose to reside in the surrounding areas, with each neighborhood offering its own unique flavor. Some popular areas to live includedowntown, Koreatown, Silver Lake/Echo Park, Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley. Residents often use their off time to explore trendy restaurants and cafes, sporting events, and outdoors adventures.  The residency also hosts numerous social events for faculty, fellows and residents to foster a sense of community, including a Welcome reception, Alumni reception, Holiday party, and Graduation ceremony.

Post Residency

USC offers a broad range of fellowships in virtually every sub-specialty, welcoming applications from all neurology programs. There are ample opportunities for our residents to interact with fellowship trainees who also provide mentorship for post-residency career development. The program also hosts an annual Alumni reception which provides an informal opportunity for residents to network with alumni graduates. Please see the fellowship section for further information. Graduates from our program receive comprehensive training to continue practice in any setting: Fellowship training, Private Practice, Managed healthcare, Academic medicine, Telemedicine, and Locum tenens.