Starting neuro rotation

[Alien hand]

I'm an MS3 starting in my neurology rotation soon. I really want to go into neurology. What do you seniors recommend that I need to fill my pockets?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[drzing]

reflex hammer, pen light, good knowledge of a neuro exam and a desire to learn. get a small notebook to keep track of interesting cases and topics and go home and read every night--neuro is different than medicine. While you have alot of step-by-step guides and formularies, alot of the fun is in discovering what a patient truly has and learning about the disease process and how to treat it. If you stay interested during your rotation you'll do well and you'll actually have fun while learning!

oh yea--pull out that first aid for step 1 and review basic anatomy. theres a TON of that stuff pimped on. and even go down to the eyes--like what muscles do what movements...etc.

 

[warchild]

also tuning fork, safety pins, and Neurology Rapid Response is an excellent quick reference that is very portable ... and/or go big and get Pocket Neurology, since you'll probably be doing several neurology rotations/externships anyway

http://www.amazon.com/Neurology-Rapid-Response-Dr-Zachariah/dp/0615719902

 

[neurodoc]

Bedside exam tools? I'm a bit of a gadget freak, so when I started out I went overboard and got all sorts of stuff to do exams...including Maddox rods, a Risley
prism, a trial frame, AO-Ritter color vision book, a handheld Doppler to check pulse, a binocular indirect ophthalmoscope, a corneal aesthesiometer (which I
also used to quantify cutaneous sensation), and I even purchased a handheld laser pointer (in the mid-1980's when these weren't cheap) to perform a bedside
type of projection perimetry to better identify subtle visual field defects. This in fact allowed me once to identify at the bedside a "pie-in-the-sky" defect in a patient
who turned out to have a temporal lobe astrocytoma affecting Meyer's loop. I really felt having these "tools" would help me become a better neurodiagnostician.

I still have all of these gadgets and do use them, but over the years I've come to the conclusion that the most important exam "tool" for the neurologist is a solid
understanding of functional neuroanatomy along with the ability to recognize patient symptoms and signs, on both the history and physical exam, and to be able
to correlate these with your knowledge of functional neuroanatomy to answer the three questions that neurologists must always address: 1) Are the patient's
symptoms due to a problem with the patient's nervous system? 2) If so, where is (are) the lesion(s)? 3) What is(are) the lesion(s)?

Were I somehow able to go back 25 years to my residency training with my current knowledge, I would probably be able to do as good or better a job diagnosing
neurologic disorders at the bedside with far fewer "tools." All that you really need are the following: 1) a good reflex hammer (Babinski or Tromner); 2) a good direct ophthamoscope; 3) safety pins; 4) 128Hz tuning fork; 5) a good stethoscope; 5) a vial of some essential oil (e.g. peppermint) to test olfaction; 6) a Rosenbaum eye
chart, with a basic color blindness test on it.

 

[Oruen14]

Well, it depends on your interest in pursuing neurology. It also depends on your budget.

I think at minimum you would need a hammer, 128hz tuning fork, penlight and some sort of reference material. Here is your amazon shopping list

$16: hammer - this is the best hammer for the price. Please do not buy a cheapo tomahawk (triangle shaped) one.
http://www.amazon.com/MDF-Neurologi...d_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T8KAW9FT4170P9YHYWM

$5: tuning fork - you really only need 128hz
http://www.amazon.com/ADC-Aluminum-...d_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T8KAW9FT4170P9YHYWM

$8: neuro rapid response - concise source for emergent neuro management, well recommended - also has eye chart and NIH stroke scale
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/06...pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

$3: eye chart - if you don't get the above booklet
http://www.amazon.com/Grafco-Pocket..._sim_bt_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BQXXNPN430K2RCQ92TS

$10: NIH stroke scale - if you don't get the booklet above
http://www.amazon.com/Stroke-Pocket...d=1396314037&sr=8-1&keywords=nih+stroke+scale


$4: penlight - dont leave home without it, please!
http://www.amazon.com/American-Diag...=UTF8&qid=1396313035&sr=8-9&keywords=penlight

Free: pin prick: all hospitals either have wooden q-tips or actual safety pins available for you to use. Save your money there.

$32 (used): Neuro blue prints - good short book to read, ideally before you start, not for your pocket though. It will be a great intro to neurology.
http://www.amazon.com/Blueprints-Ne...96313153&sr=8-1&keywords=neurology+blueprints

$52: pocket neurology - also recommended, but slightly expensive
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Neurol...d_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T8KAW9FT4170P9YHYWM

You don't need an ophthalmoscope unless you plan on going into neurology. It will run you $180-400. If someone asks for one and you don't have it, just say that your battery died


So take your pick from the above. The basic gear will only run you ~$30.