The University of Florida Neurocritical Care Fellowship program offers one and two-year training programs accredited by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) as well as the UCNS (United Council of Neurological Specialties).
Despite the challenges that have plagued critical care units around the world in recent years, we continue to pride ourselves in fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment that cultivates that humanity that drew each of us to medicine, empowering us to impact patient lives for the better. Our impact is most palpable in the realms of clinical service, research, and educational scholarship. We constantly challenge ourselves to learn and grow, and our group hopes to inspire our trainees to become future leaders in neurocritical care and medicine overall. We believe in the potential of our trainees, even when they may doubt it.
Program structure and Features
Who We Are
The division of Neurocritical Care is housed within the Department of Neurology, which at its core seeks to be a ground-breaking, progressive force to improve healthcare for patients and practitioners. Outside of our division, our world-class endeavors include the Normal Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, the McKnight Brain Institute, the Brain Injury, Rehabilitation, and Neuroresilience Center, the Breathing Research and Therapeutics Center, and the Applied Neuromechanics Lab. This is in addition to our collaborations with our thriving UF Neurosurgery Department.
Diversity Matters
Florida is among the most diverse states in the country and Gainesville is where all those cultures, religions, ethnicities, and political beliefs coexist – many will tell you that it’s part of the charm here. To fully embrace this diversity, the UF Department of Neurology was among the first to create a diversity council to improve the ways in which we think about and approach issues surrounding diversity and equity. Multiple neurocritical care faculty serve on this council. We unapologetically believe there is strength in our combined differences, and have been able to serve as a model for other departments within the College of Medicine.
Our Difference
The UF Neurocritical Care Faculty are an energetic group who came together with the understanding that we would all push each other to learn, grow, and genuinely try to make the world a better place. We quickly found that among our strengths is the diversity of educational backgrounds from which we hail – Harvard, Yale, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, BIDMC, and Emory, both from anesthesia and neurology backgrounds. This culture and educational diversity extends to our fellows, providing us the flexibility to train fellows from varied disciplines including neurology, neurosurgery, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and anesthesia, as well as fellows directly out of residency alongside fellows with over 20 years of critical care experience.
Team Medicine/Team Science
The most successful applicants to our program will display strong understanding of team medicine and team science. We believe that a key component of providing excellent care to our patients and performing ground-breaking research is to cultivate an environment in which all parties are valued and provided the opportunity to develop. Building and maintaining such a culture is a deliberate process, and our faculty meet weekly to discuss all matters within our ICU including the growth of our fellows, who are regularly provided feedback on their clinical development, leadership skills, and progress toward their career goals. We believe that our program provides an experience to which few others compare.
Clinical Training
Clinically, our program provides trainees with the opportunity to master the management of complex neurocritical illness, while also guiding our fellows to gain adequate proficiency in the management of general critical care conditions to become bona fide intensivists.
Academic Training
Academically, fellows are required to identify a career mentor early in their first year of training. Our fellows present at regular journal clubs and will have the opportunity to participate in one of the 20-30+ ongoing research projects/clinical trials in our division at any given time, or contribute to one of the 20-40+ publications our group publishes yearly.
Meet the Team
Living in gainesville
All About Gainesville
As a city, Gainesville offers more than meets the eye. While it may initially appear like a typical college town, Gainesville effectively combines the vast diversity of cultures in Florida, from Miami to the Panhandle, into a single city.
For Foodies
The food scene in Gainesville reflects the diversity of Florida, with strong Asian, Latin, and Southern influences (and better tacos than you find just about anywhere up North). Gainesville offers a burgeoning upscale food scene, wine and charcuterie bars, surprisingly excellent cocktail bars, several world-class breweries, and many up-and-coming establishments scattered throughout town, including more vegetarian/vegan options than many larger cities. We will put our Uppercrust Bakery and Satchel’s Pizza up against any challenger anywhere. Gainesville also offers several well-known farmers markets and food trucks, including the beloved Haile Farmers Market every Saturday morning.
Outdoor Living
If you enjoy the outdoors, welcome home. Gainesville has abundant green spaces, offering countless options for walking/jogging/biking, playing, or simply lounging outside Depot Park for the whole family, Sweetwater Wetlands Park, and the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail among others. All faculty and staff also receive free access to UF’s own Lake Wauburg replete with equipment rentals for a plethora of water and land-based recreational activities. If you just want to relax in the pool, there’s plenty of that as well, as the healing properties of a Florida sunset are fairly well-accepted truths around here.
application Requirements and Program Details
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for the fellowship, candidates must have completed (or on track to complete) training in an ACGME-accredited residency in neurology, internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, pediatric neurology or anesthesiology, or have completed 4 years of training in an ACGME-accredited neurosurgery residency program.
Length of Program
For candidates who have completed training in surgical critical care, anesthesia critical care, medical critical care, or are current neurosurgery residents, the duration of training is 12 months – training for all others is 24 months. Prior residency or fellowship training must have been completed in the United States of America to apply for this fellowship.
Additional Requirements
· Candidates must possess a current valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States.
· Candidates must be board certified or eligible for certification in their respective primary specialties.
· Each fellow must achieve provider (and/or trainer) certification in ACLS, BLS, and ENLS
Rotation Details
· 12 month rotations in the neurosciences ICU, usually in blocks of 4 weeks. Fellows work shifts of 12-hours, mix of day/night shifts.
· 1-2 month rotation in the medical ICU
· 1-2 month of surgical / trauma ICU
· 1-2 month of subspecialty surgical ICU (cardio-thoracic, transplant, burn, trauma)
· 1-2 months of critical care EEG
· 1-2 month of procedures / airway management
· 1 month of neuro-anesthesia (OR)
· 3-4 months protected elective time (eg: clinical, research elective)
Compensation and Benefits
Compensation is commensurate with level of training (paid as PGY-5 and PGY-6, respectively) by the GME office at UF-Health. UF Benefits are generally regarded as quite competitive.
Visa Sponsorship
We currently accept J1 visa sponsorship through ECFMG. We will consider candidates with an H1B visa on a case-by-case basis.
Application Information
Applications to our fellowship may be submitted during the application cycle (typically January to July each year) via the SF Match Neurocritical Care Fellowship website. Earlier submissions will have a better chance to be offered an interview (typically taking place January-May), though all candidates are considered on a case-by-case basis. We anticipate that interviews will remain virtual this application cycle given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Contact Information
Please direct any questions regarding the fellowship or general inquiries to April Raba, Neurocritical Care Fellowship Coordinator, at: April.King@Neurology.ufl.edu; Office: 352-273-5550; Fax: 352-273-5575
We look forward to building the future of neurocritical care with you!