Pediatric Neurology Programs and Autism

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I may be getting a little ahead of myself here, since i'm just about to start a MD/PhD program. But anyway i'm just curious about how combined pediatrics and neurology programs work and where the great programs are. I think i'd rather go through neurology than pediatrics and i'd love to get it done in as little as time as possible. I think i heard about some five year programs that include a year of research. Will they let me skip that year if i'm MD/PhD?

Also i think i want to do research and be a subspecialist in autism. Is autism normally treated by psychiatrists, nuerologists, or both? and what are the advantages disadvantages to either route? I guess as we understand the biological basis for psychological disorders the line between psychiatry and neurology is becoming more and more blurred

 

[Nerdoscience]

One thing to remember about Pediatric Neuro is that you will see kids that have other pediatric problems, but you probably won't see adults that have neurologic problems. For that reason, going through Peds has its advantages.

My guess on the research programs is that they won't count your PhD as your research, but that you would be more competitive for the research position because of your experience.

 

[shinkei]

I may be getting a little ahead of myself here, since i'm just about to start a MD/PhD program. But anyway i'm just curious about how combined pediatrics and neurology programs work and where the great programs are. I think i'd rather go through neurology than pediatrics and i'd love to get it done in as little as time as possible. I think i heard about some five year programs that include a year of research. Will they let me skip that year if i'm MD/PhD?

Also i think i want to do research and be a subspecialist in autism. Is autism normally treated by psychiatrists, nuerologists, or both? and what are the advantages disadvantages to either route? I guess as we understand the biological basis for psychological disorders the line between psychiatry and neurology is becoming more and more blurred

Welcome! I'm a recent match in peds neuro so hopefully I can answer some of your questions...
As you can probably see from other peds neuro posts, there are a lot of different routes you can go. Which route you pick will primarily depend on what patients you want to see and what disease processes you want to deal with. It's still early in your career, you'll have plenty of time to think about it! I am primarily a neuro person who chose to go the peds route and I don't mind at all - I can't stand having to deal with the afib, diabetes, hypertension, etc that comes with a lot of adult neuro. But you might not know all this until you go through third year, like I did.
Also if you do go the peds route I do think it's helpful to get at least two years of peds residency rather than the 1 clinical 1 research, since it will make you a better clinician and you will be able to get board certification in pediatrics if you want to. I don't think you're allowed to skip it if you're MSTP, but a lot of peds programs do have a "research scientist" track which is geared toward you guys.
For the "great" programs - I'm not the expert on this, I think others on the board might know better. There are a lot of great programs out there, but the word on the interview trail was that the east coast has the majority of them (Boston Children's, CHOP). The midwest - Wash U? The best in the west is probably UCSF. But what might be the "best" program on paper might not be the "best" program for you. A lot of factors go into it (what the faculty is known for, research opportunities, "gut feel," etc) and especially if you want to do your peds in the same place, you have to find a place that you'll be happy at for all five years.
As far as autism goes, I understand it's treated by either peds neurology or psychiatry, depending on which clinicians are available at a particular hospital. If you really are interested in autism, however, I would recommend going the peds route.
Hope that helps!

 

[homeobox_genes]

Welcome! I'm a recent match in peds neuro so hopefully I can answer some of your questions...
As you can probably see from other peds neuro posts, there are a lot of different routes you can go. Which route you pick will primarily depend on what patients you want to see and what disease processes you want to deal with. It's still early in your career, you'll have plenty of time to think about it! I am primarily a neuro person who chose to go the peds route and I don't mind at all - I can't stand having to deal with the afib, diabetes, hypertension, etc that comes with a lot of adult neuro. But you might not know all this until you go through third year, like I did.
Also if you do go the peds route I do think it's helpful to get at least two years of peds residency rather than the 1 clinical 1 research, since it will make you a better clinician and you will be able to get board certification in pediatrics if you want to. I don't think you're allowed to skip it if you're MSTP, but a lot of peds programs do have a "research scientist" track which is geared toward you guys.
For the "great" programs - I'm not the expert on this, I think others on the board might know better. There are a lot of great programs out there, but the word on the interview trail was that the east coast has the majority of them (Boston Children's, CHOP). The midwest - Wash U? The best in the west is probably UCSF. But what might be the "best" program on paper might not be the "best" program for you. A lot of factors go into it (what the faculty is known for, research opportunities, "gut feel," etc) and especially if you want to do your peds in the same place, you have to find a place that you'll be happy at for all five years.
As far as autism goes, I understand it's treated by either peds neurology or psychiatry, depending on which clinicians are available at a particular hospital. If you really are interested in autism, however, I would recommend going the peds route.
Hope that helps!

Most autism is treated by child psychiatrists, I believe.