The fellowship begins with an intensive 3 week course aimed at establishing an advanced knowledge that will serve the fellow during their training, in preparation for the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Epilepsy Board Examination and throughout their career. 

As the education course is free of clinical responsibilities, the fellow can focus fully on mastering concepts critical to the success of any epileptologist. Beyond the course, education continues through multiple training activities: 

• Journal club 

• Evidence based medicine course with Department Chair Gary Gronseth, M.D. 

• Epilepsy surgery conference 

• Bedside clinical teaching 

• Twice daily EEG review for inpatient rotations

Under the supervision of the attending epileptologist in inpatient and outpatient settings, this next phase proceeds into clinical care. This formative period is critical to understanding the epileptologist's approach to caring for patients with both drug-responsive and drug-resistant epilepsy. 

The beginning of training will proceed with a lower case load responsibility. For instance, at the beginning of the fellowship, fellows will be responsible for 1-3 scalp EEGs and one invasive EEG, with a progressive increase as one develops comfort and mastery. Fellows will routinely see patients post operative for epilepsy surgeries and follow up with attendings directly. For outpatient epilepsy, fellows will work on a one-to-one basis with faculty, with dedicated time for neuromodulatory, autoimmune epilepsy and epilepsy pregnancy clinics. 

As the fellowship progresses, the fellow will naturally direct care more independently as they prepare for practice as an attending. This will include increasing EEG responsibility and primary leading of rounds with attending supervision. At the conclusion of the one year fellowship, the fellow will be ready for an independent subspecialty practice of epilepsy in the setting of their choice. 

Our fellows also will be prepared to sit for the ABPN Epilepsy Board Examination and have a 100% pass rate. This exam will entail advanced knowledge of the following topics: 

• Anti-seizure medication (ASM) management 

• Accurate and specific epilepsy diagnoses 

• Mastery in routine and video EEG reading 

• Evaluation and management of critically ill epilepsy patients and their EEGs 

• Surgical epilepsy evaluations 

• Management of epilepsy patients during the invasive EEG and/or surgical resection / neuromodulatory device insertion portion of their care 

• Evaluation and co-management of psychiatric comorbidities of epilepsy 

• Evaluation and management of patients with non-epileptic events 

• Dedicated education block (1) 

• Inpatient Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (6) 

• Outpatient Epilepsy Clinic (2) 

• Pediatric Epilepsy (1) 

• Vacation (4 weeks - can be broken up into smaller blocks) 

• Research 

• Focused Intracranial EEG and Epilepsy Surgery 

• Pediatric Epilepsy 

• Neuropsychology/fMRI 

• Intraoperative monitoring 

• Sleep medicine