University of Rochester Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is an academic, university-based Child Neurology program at Golisano Children's Hospital drawing a large, geographically dispersed catchment (~5 million people across Upstate/Western NY and northern PA) that supports a broad case mix from routine to ultra-rare disorders. The program is built around curricular flexibility, most notably an optional non-ABP PGY-2 pathway that front-loads child neurology exposure for the ~95% of graduates who never sit pediatrics boards, and a restructured PGY-3 year that reduces continuous adult-neurology block time based on the program's own published wellness research. A four-year longitudinal mentorship program pairs residents with faculty for structured scholarship projects, leadership development, and fellowship planning, reflecting a strong institutional emphasis on individualized career trajectory-setting (subspecialty fellowship, education, research, or global health tracks) rather than a single fixed pathway. The program explicitly prizes resident autonomy, teaching skill development (Educator Track, Mind Brain Behavior course instruction), and self-directed scholarly output culminating in the Schwid Research Symposium.