Neurology

Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute

General Neurology

The General Neurology section is the gateway to the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern. The primary mission of this section is to assist our colleagues throughout UT Southwestern and our affiliated accountable care organizations (ACOs) to care for their patients who may have neurological symptoms or disorders. Faculty from any department can request a consultation without the need to specify a particular diagnosis or subspecialty area of neurology. The most common diagnosis seen in General Neurology is migraine. We also investigate neurological symptoms such as numbness, paresthesia, gait disorders, and various types of neuropathic pain. Our general neurologists are expert diagnosticians who can assess a broad range of concerns and focus them on an action plan for treatment or further workup. We will determine if the patient would be best served by continuity of care within the General Neurology section, consultation with a Neurology subspecialist, or reassurance that the feared neurologic condition was not found. 

Clinical 

The General Neurology section provides Neurology consultation at UT Southwestern James W. Aston Ambulatory Care Center, William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, Parkland Hospital, the VA North Texas Health Care System and the Moncrief Medical Center in Fort Worth.

Research 

General Neurology research includes:

  • Quality Improvement
  • Health Economics / Cost Effectiveness / Utilization
  • Medical Education
  • Rare Disease Case Reports
  • Certification Medicine / Public Health

The General Neurology section participates in Phase 3 clinical trials of emerging therapeutics.

Education

The General Neurology section provides the backbone of medical education at UT Southwestern. A discussion of the opportunities available to medical students and residents is listed elsewhere in this site. 

Conditions Treated

  • Migraine and other headaches
  • Pre-transplant evaluation
  • Pilot fit-to-fly evaluation
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Bell’s palsy
  • Abnormal brain MRI or CT
  • Double vision
  • Gait disorder
  • Numbness and tingling
  • Tremor
  • Neuropathy and nerve impingement

Primary Services

  • Clinical examination, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological conditions – both telehealth and in-person evaluations are offered
  • Botulinum toxin (Botox) injections for chronic migraine and selected other neurological disorders
  • Aeromedical fit-to-fly evaluations (neurological evaluations to FAA standards)
  • Interpretation of neurological testing – The General Neurology section is within a comprehensive Neurology department that offers EEG, EMG, autonomic testing, etc. Testing performed in other sections within Neurology can be coordinated by a single general neurologist.

Collaborative Services

General Neurology collaborations include:

  • Transplant surgery – General Neurology provides pre-transplant risk assessment and optimization of neurological conditions.
  • Spine clinic – General Neurology provides the diagnostic skills to localize a disease process to the spine, and then collaborates with our neurosurgical, physiatry, and pain management colleagues when their procedural skills will benefit our patients.
  • Neuro-Ophthalmology – Evaluation of diplopia, migraine with visual aura, visual field deficits, etc.
  • ENT – Evaluation of dizzy patients
  • Neurology subspecialists – Initial evaluation in General Neurology may uncover a specific diagnosis that would be best served by a highly specialized neurologist from a different section.

Section Head 

Providers

Education Opportunities

MS1 Shadowing

First Year (MS1) medical students frequently spend a half-day shadowing a neurologist in the Aston neurology clinic. This is encouraged to explore an interest in neurology or learn more about the field. Students exposed to the fascinating variety of cases seen in the General Neurology clinic often have gone on to match in competitive neurology residencies. Shadowing can be arranged through the Student Interest Group in Neurology (SIGN).

MS3, MS4 Inpatient Core Neurology Rotations

Medical students in their clinical years (MS3 and MS4) will be assigned to a core Neurology rotation that typically includes two weeks of inpatient General Neurology. Here, they will learn the fundamentals of hospital neurology and be well prepared for the shelf exam.

MS3, MS4 Ambulatory Neurology Outpatient neurology rotations are also available for MS3 and MS4 students. Students who enjoyed their MS3 hospital Neurology rotation often choose and Ambulatory Neurology elective in the MS4 year, where they will have additional exposure to General Neurology as well as some of the Neurology subspecialities.

Resident General Neurology Hospital Rotations

  • General Neurology Hospital Service – Parkland Hospital
  • General Neurology Hospital Service – Clements University Hospital
  • Neurology Consult Service

These rotations provide the core neurology education for our Neurology residency program.

Resident General Neurology Outpatient Clinic

This rotation is designed for senior residents as they consider career options and prepare for practice or fellowship. This rotation provides education in practice management, including billing and coding. The curriculum focusing on the business of medicine was developed within the General Neurology section and is unique to UT Southwestern, providing an advantage to our trainees not provided by other programs. In this rotation, residents gain independence in management of fundamental neurology diagnoses while still having exposure to the unusual cases seen at an academic medical center.

Fellows

Those pursuing fellowship in one of the neurological subspecialties may be able to arrange to spend a portion of their time in General Neurology. This is particularly advantageous for those who may not devote 100% of their practice to a single subspecialty after fellowship or who want to maintain a broad skill set.