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Sports Neurology Fellowship Program
The Department of Neurology at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana offers a one- or two-year fellowship in Sports Neurology. Fellows are trained to advance the field of sports neurology to best serve those patients with sports-related or sports-like neurological injury. These injuries include concussion, neck injury, peripheral nerve injury, myofascial injury, and associated sequela including vestibulopathies, ophthalmological conditions, mood disorders, and cognitive disorders.
The Ochsner Sports Neurology Fellowship provides the training in the acute, subacute, and chronic management of patients who present with symptoms, diagnostic results, and exam findings related to disorders in sports neurology. As a part of this management, the fellow will be trained on multiple procedural skills and become proficient in nerve blocks and botulinum injections. The fellow will be exposed to and rotate with multiple medical disciplines including primary care sports medicine, orthopedic sports medicine, interventional pain management, neuropsychology, neuro-ophthalmology, occupational/physical/vestibular/speech therapies, and have the option to rotate with neuromuscular neurology. In addition, the fellow will participate in sideline coverage for multiple sports throughout their training. Upon completion of the fellowship, the fellow will have developed the necessary skills to properly manage patients with disorders in sports neurology. The clinical portion of the fellowship will be completed in 1 year with the option to undertake an additional year of research.
Goals and Objectives
The clinical year of the fellowship (year 1) is designed to expose the fellow to multiple forms of sports neurology disorders, other neurological disease, sports medicine disorders, and well visits. To aid in this exposure, the fellow will evaluate and manage patients in both the pediatric and adult populations. The fellow will see patients with various injury backgrounds including but not limited to athletes, motor vehicle crashes, falls, assaults, and workers compensation.
By the end of this year, the fellow will be able to:
- Be an expert in sports neurology.
- Describe the pathophysiology of disorders within sports neurology.
- Describe all management modalities for disorders within sports neurology.
- Perform sports neurology procedures proficiently.
- Interpret imaging used within sports neurology.
- Assimilate results from current sports neurology literature into their clinical practice.
- Describe the foundation needed to be a leader in sports neurology.
Year 2 of the fellowship is an optional research year that the fellow will either opt to do during the initial application process or decide to add on once they start the fellowship. During this year, the fellow will be required to develop and complete at least one research project within the field of sports neurology of their choosing that is capable of being published in a peer reviewed journal. The fellow will work closely with the fellowship director on their research project. In designing their project, the fellow will adhere to the standards set by the Institutional Review Board. During this year, the fellow will also spend 1 day a week in sports neurology clinic to maintain continuity of care for their patients. During this year, the fellow will be expected to continue to respond to their patient specific needs including but not limited to patient messages and requested forms.
By the end of this year, the fellow will be able to:
- Conduct appropriate Institutional Review Board certifications and documentations.
- Describe the rigors of developing a project that meets peer reviewed journal standards.
- Maintain all clinical standards developed in year 1 of the fellowship.
