BOCA RATON, FL – February 7, 2018 – Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
has received initial accreditation from the national Accreditation Council
for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for a University-sponsored residency
program in neurology, in collaboration with Boca Raton Regional Hospital
(BRRH), and Tenet HealthCare system’s Delray Medical Center (DMC),
members of the FAU College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education (GME)
Consortium. An extensive network of neurologists in the region also will
provide elective sites for the program and serve as lecturers.
This latest program brings a total of five residency programs to FAU: internal
medicine (launched in 2014); general surgery (launched in 2016); emergency
medicine (launched in 2017); psychiatry (launches in July); and neurology
(launches in July).
FAU’s four-year, categorical neurology residency program is based
at BRRH, the primary site for the program, and DMC. The program has been
approved for three positions each year for a total of 12 positions. The
inaugural class will be selected in March through the National Resident
Matching Program (NRMP®) and will start on July 1.
“The prevalence and burden of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s
disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy
have significantly increased over the past 25 years and are among the
leading causes of disability and death worldwide,” said Phillip
Boiselle, MD, dean of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
“We are pleased to once again join forces with our exceptional hospital
partners in our Graduate Medical Education Consortium as well as outstanding
neurologists in this area to bring this latest program to Palm Beach County.
Together, we will train the next generation of neurologists and neuroscientists
who will help to improve quality of life, enhance the delivery of health
care, and contribute to lifesaving research in the neurosciences.”
FAU’s neurology residency program is directed by Daniel Kantor, MD,
a leading neurologist and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology
and the American Neurological Association, president emeritus of the Florida
Society of Neurology, and chair of the Subcommittee on Concussion, Sports
Medicine Advisory Committee of the Florida High School Athletics Association.
Kantor is a renowned expert on multiple sclerosis, concussions and migraines.
The program will include formal teaching in daily didactic sessions, grand
rounds, professor rounds, clinical and basic neuroscience lectures as
well as a number of subspecialties conferences. Neurology residents will
have the opportunity to individualize their training by selecting a wide
range of electives, which include electromyography (EMG)/neuromuscular,
epilepsy, headache, memory disorders, neuroimmunology/multiple sclerosis,
among others. Neurology residents also will have the opportunity to be
involved in basic neuroscience research at the FAU Brain Institute and
the BRRH Marcus Neuroscience Institute and to work with clinicians on
cutting-edge programs at the FAU Comprehensive Center for Brain Health.
“We are very excited to serve as the primary site for Florida Atlantic
University’s neurology residency program,” said Jerry Fedele,
president and CEO of BRRH. “The highly trained clinicians in our
state-of-the-art Marcus Neuroscience Institute provide expertise in all
facets of the neurosciences including stroke, movement disorders, Alzheimer’s
disease and other memory disorders, neuro-oncology, multiple sclerosis,
epilepsy, and spinal conditions. Boca Raton Regional Hospital will provide
an ideal environment as well as vital resources for FAU’s neurology
residents.”
The Association of American Medical College’s (AAMC) latest data
shows that the United States continues to face a projected physician shortage
over the next decade, creating a real risk to patient care. The latest
projections continue to align with previous estimates, showing a projected
shortage between 40,800 and 104,900 physicians. Furthermore, by 2030,
the U.S. population of Americans aged 65 and older will grow by 55 percent.
As patients get older, they require two to three times as many services,
mostly in specialty care such as neurology, where the projections for
shortages are especially severe. A study commissioned by the American
Neurological Association found that the most common neurological diseases
cost the U.S. $789 billion in 2014, and this figure is projected to grow
as the U.S. population ages.
“Our innovative program will offer neurology residents with the very
best that Florida Atlantic University and our partner hospitals have to
offer in education, patient care, research, and community outreach,”
said Kantor. “I am excited to lead this program, which will emphasize
wellness by creating a work environment that will allow residents to explore
their interests and utilize the numerous resources designed specifically
for them and provided by FAU and our Graduate Medical Education Consortium.”
FAU’s GME programs are spearheaded by Lee Learman, MD, PhD, senior
associate dean for graduate medical education and academic affairs. He
also serves as the designated institutional official responsible for all
residency and fellowship programs sponsored by FAU’s College of
Medicine as well as the recruitment of founding program directors for
planned GME programs.
“The addition of our latest residency program in neurology as well
as our other graduate medical education programs will help to address
the disconcerting projected shortages of physicians in primary care and
specialties such as surgery, emergency medicine and psychiatry,”
said Learman.
For more information about FAU’s neurology residency program, contact
Adriana Chow-Ellison, MBA, program coordinator, at
achowel1@health.fau.edu or visit
http://med.fau/residencies/neurology.
FAU’s four-year psychiatry residency program is based at DMC, the
primary site for the program, South County Mental Health Center and BRRH.
FAU’s six-year general surgery training program is based at BRRH,
the primary site for the program, as well as Bethesda Hospital East, DMC,
St. Mary’s Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center. The three-year
emergency medicine training program is based at Bethesda Hospital East,
the primary site for the program, as well as St. Mary’s Medical
Center and DMC. FAU’s first residency in internal medicine is based
at BRRH, the primary site for the program, with participation from Bethesda
Hospital East and DMC. All five hospitals are member teaching hospitals
in the FAU College of Medicine GME Consortium.
About Boca Raton Regional Hospital - Advancing the boundaries of medicine.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is an advanced, tertiary medical center (BRRH.com)
with 400 beds and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff.
The Hospital is a recognized leader in oncology, cardiovascular disease
and surgery, minimally invasive surgery, orthopedics, women’s health,
emergency medicine and the neurosciences, all of which offer state-of-the-art
diagnostic and imaging capabilities. The Hospital is a designated Comprehensive
Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of approximately
150 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in
2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing
FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida
legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school
in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more
than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students
each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum.
To further FAU’s commitment to increase much needed medical residency
positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue
to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles
E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education
(GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach
County. In June 2014, FAU’s College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural
class of 36 residents in its first University-sponsored residency in internal
medicine and graduated its first class of internal medicine residents in 2017.
Media Contact:
Gisele Galoustian, 561.297.2676
Florida Atlantic University