Epilepsy Clinical Fellowship
The overall goal of the epilepsy fellowship program at UCSF is to train outstanding clinical neurologists capable of caring for the most complex epilepsy cases. The aim of the program also includes the training of academic leaders in epilepsy—whether by virtue of lasting contributions to the clinical care of patients, improvements in public health, educating future neurologists, or fostering the early careers of clinical or laboratory research physician-scientists. This program is an ACGME-accredited epilepsy fellowship; fellows are encouraged to apply for a second year of training in one of two tracks: clinical track and research track. Fellows are eligible to apply for an added qualification in epilepsy by the ABPN at the end of their first year of training (board certification in epilepsy). This program accepts one adult epilepsy fellow and one pediatric epilepsy fellow each year.
The program director oversees the process of selecting applicants for interviews. The program director and two other faculty members review all completed applications. Applicants are offered interviews on a rolling basis (as applications are received and approved for an interview) and interviews typically occur in the winter of the year prior to the date of appointment. The interview experience consists of lunch with our current fellows and faculty-applicant interviews. Selection of fellows also occurs on a rolling basis, with faculty members after each interview day discussing whether an offer of appointment should be made. Appointments typically begin in July and end in June the following year.
The training program has been designed with two main tracks (fellows, with the guidance of the program director and other supervising faculty, choose which track they will enter at the beginning of the program):
The ACGME-accredited epilepsy fellowship program consists of the following rotations:
1. Inpatient adult Video/EEG monitoring unit at UCSF Moffitt Long Hospital
2. Inpatient pediatric Video/EEG monitoring unit at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
3. Inpatient adult Video/EEG monitoring unit at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center (SFVAMC)
4. Adult epilepsy outpatient clinics at UCSF Parnassus Ambulatory Care Center
5. Adult epilepsy outpatient clinics at SFVAMC
6. Pediatric epilepsy outpatient clinics at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
7. Continuous EEG monitoring of critically ill inpatients at UCSF Moffitt Long Hospital
8. Continuous EEG monitoring of critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
9. Routine/outpatient EEG interpretation at UCSF Parnassus, UCSF Benioff and SFVAMC
10. Outreach clinics through the US public health service and SFVAMC
The second year of the training program has been designed with two main tracks (fellows, with the guidance of the program director and other supervising faculty, choose which track they will enter at the beginning of the program):
Clinical track: this program is based on the clinical interests of the fellow and subscribes to the ACGME tenet of progressive responsibility. The second-year fellow assumes a junior attending role with greater independence in patient management in both outpatient and inpatient settings. The second-year fellow will focus on the planning and management of phase 2 epilepsy surgery cases, the collaboration with the epilepsy surgeon during intraoperative electrocorticography, and leading epilepsy surgery case conference for the most complicated cases.
Research track: Under the supervision of the program director and with guidance from the Epilepsy director and research mentors, fellows identify appropriate translational, bench or clinical research projects and funding mechanisms during the first year of their epilepsy fellowship. Fellows who select this track must have successfully applied for intramural or extramural funding support, developed a project with clearly delineated specific aims, hypotheses and study design and identified appropriate mentors by the end of their first year.
How to Apply
This one-year fellowship opportunity is fully funded and will focus on epilepsy surgery and the management of complex, tertiary-level epilepsy cases. Prior experience in an ACGME clinical neurophysiology or epilepsy program is preferred. Application requirements include single-page application form (Application Form), curriculum vitae, 3 letters of recommendation, and a brief personal statement. Please send application materials and questions directly to Dr. Tina Shih, Fellowship Director, at [email protected] or 415-353-9173 (confidential voice mail).
Tina Shih, MD
Clinical Professor of Neurology
Fellowship Director, Epilepsy
400 Parnassus Avenue
UCSF Box 0138
San Francisco, CA 94143
[email protected]
Helena Khim
Fellowship coordinator
[email protected]
415-476-9202
Fax: 415-476-3428