The movement disorder fellowship at Rush University Medical Center is a two-year program, with one fellow at each level. The fellowship follows the successful completion of a neurology residency.

The goal of the fellowship is to provide a complete training experience in the diagnosis, evaluation and management of the neurological disorders associated with basal ganglia dysfunction that are characterized clinically by disruption of normal movement or the production of involuntary movements. These conditions include:

• parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease
• Huntington's disease and other choreic disorders
• dystonia
• tremor
• myoclonus
• tics
• gait disorders
• cerebellar ataxia

The first year of the fellowship focuses on clinical experiences, including managing inpatient and consultation services, seeing outpatients in the clinic, including the resident’s own continuity clinic, and learning to evaluate and monitor surgically-treated patients. A clinical research project is conducted during the first year with the goal of presenting at an international or national meeting.

During the second year, the outpatient experience continues in the house officer's own continuity clinic and there is more in depth focus on clinical or basic science research.

Rationale for Establishment of Fellowship Programs

The field of Movement Disorders encompasses many diseases that are believed to have in common abnormalities of function in the basal ganglia. These conditions are uncommon, and it is unlikely that outside a specialized center, a resident will complete his training with sufficient breadth of exposure to develop expertise in the clinical evaluation and treatment of these disorders.

History of the Fellowship

In 1977, two senior neurologists with special expertise in Movement Disorders [Harold L. Klawans, MD (1937-1998), and Stanley Fahn, MD] decided to develop an American model of training in Movement Disorders which paralleled the British system of Fellowship training as practiced at The Institute for Neurological Diseases at Queen Square. Dr. Klawans, (1937-1998) here at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center (now Rush University Medical Center) and Dr. Stanley Fahn at Columbia University in New York had the first two Fellowship programs in this country. These programs were successful, well subscribed, and produced graduates who became successful in clinical and basic research in Movement Disorders. Currently, there are more than fifteen Fellowship programs which have been modeled after these two programs. The Fellowship is a two-year program, and there is one Fellow at the first year (PGY-5) and one at the second year (PGY-6) level.