Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship

Overview

Neuromuscular Medicine

This is a one-year, ACGME-accredited fellowship in Neuromuscular Medicine. Three positions are available per year. Eligible trainees include physicians who have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited residency program in the United States or RCPSC-accredited residency program in Canada in one of the following specialties: Neurology, Child Neurology or Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. All International Medical Graduates must have received a currently valid ECFMG certificate in order to apply to our program.

The Neuromuscular Center of the Neurological Institute includes eight full-time staff physicians. Annually, we see over 400 inpatients and over 3,000 outpatients with neuromuscular diseases, and perform over 3,000 EMG studies. The Neuromuscular Center also operates an autonomic disorders laboratory (tilt table, cardiovascular autonomic reflexes, QSART, and thermoregulatory sweat testing), skin biopsy and histopathology laboratory for epidermal nerve fiber analysis, and neuromuscular ultrasound services.

Program Structure

The program begins with a one-month lecture series and workshop, covering basic clinical neurophysiology, NCS, EMG, neuromuscular anatomy, neuromuscular histopathology, and clinical disorders. Thereafter, 50% of the time is spent in clinical neuromuscular disease activities (adult and pediatric neuromuscular clinics, ALS multidisciplinary clinic, myopathy clinic, inpatient and critical care unit neuromuscular consultations), and 30-40% of the time is spent in the EMG Laboratory. Fellows will also rotate through the multidisciplinary MDA clinic at MetroHealth Medical Center. The remaining time is dedicated to nerve and muscle pathology and research/scholarly activities. Additional opportunities include skin biopsy techniques, epidermal nerve fiber evaluations, autonomic studies, single fiber electromyography, botulinum toxin injections, and nerve and muscle ultrasonography. Trainees can expect to perform 500+ EMGs during their year of fellowship, comprising studies covering the wide spectrum of neuromuscular diseases. In the clinics, fellows develop competency in the assessment and management of these neuromuscular disorders.

A number of conferences occur throughout the year, including weekly neurology grand rounds, neuromuscular medicine grand rounds, EMG case conference, neuromuscular medicine clinical case conference, and neuromuscular medicine journal club. Fellows participate in the preparation and presentation of neuromuscular medicine CPCs and neuromuscular medicine seminars. Fellows are encouraged to pick among many available research areas, and work with a staff mentor to complete the project for presentation and publication.

Application Process

Our program is committed to abiding by the following fellowship application process – there will be no interview offers made before March 1 of the year before the fellowship start date. Additionally, the Cleveland Clinic Neuromuscular Medicine (NM) fellowship program will not be offering fellowship positions before the results of the Match on June 3 of the year before the fellowship start date. Violations of this will result in the removal of our institution from the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) NM Fellowship Portal and Match system.

We are delighted to be participating in the standard NM fellowship application timeline in conjunction with the AANEM. Accordingly, we will be reviewing applications beginning March 1, 2024, and conducting interviews in Spring 2024 for the fellowship class starting July 2025. Please note the AANEM online portal opened on January 1, 2024, at which point you can begin entering application materials (see required list below). Faculty members will conduct online virtual interviews this interview season. 

• Personal Statement.
• Letter from Residency Program Director in lieu of Dean's Letter.
• At least two letters of recommendation from physicians who have supervised you in a clinical setting.
• USMLE/COMLEX Score Reports (Steps/Levels 1-3).
• Medical School Diploma.
• Certified copy of your currently valid ECFMG certificate (applicable for International Medical Graduates only).

Program Director

John A. Morren, MD
Program Director, Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship
Associate Professor of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University

Contact

If you have any questions, please email nieducation@ccf.org.

Clinical Fellows

From Cleveland Clinic's earliest days, education has been an integral element of our vision, emblazoned on the walls of the original Cleveland Clinic building: “Care of the sick, investigation of their problems, and further education of those who serve.” We take pride in this legacy and in creating the optimal learning environment for the future leaders in our field. The following are our current Neuromuscular Medicine fellows:

2024-2025 Clinical Fellows

Chantal Bhan, DO, MPH
Medical Education: Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency:  Spectrum Health/Michigan State University College of Medicine - Neurology

Jennifer Cashwell, DO
Medical Education:  Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Virginia
Residency: Medical University of South Carolina - Neurology

Saniya Pervin, MBBS
Medical school: Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India
Residency: University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center - Neurology

Living in Cleveland

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