Neurocritical Care

Program Overview:

The Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington (UW) is offering a one-year CAST and UCNS accredited Neurocritical Care Fellowship. The Neurocritical Care Fellow is appointed as an Acting Instructor in the Department of Neurological Surgery.

The goal of the fellowship is to train superb clinical and academic leaders in Neurocritical Care that will flourish in our multidisciplinary clinical and research environment. Graduates of this program will be competent in all aspects of Critical Care, with special competence in Neurocritical Care. Progressive independence in patient evaluation and management is encouraged during the course of the fellowship.

The fellowship’s main clinical home is at Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in Seattle, Washington. HMC is the sole level 1 adult and pediatric trauma and burn center for the entire WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) and a Comprehensive Stroke Center. The Neurocritical Care Service at HMC houses the bulk of their patients in a dedicated 30-bed Neuroscience ICU, but will care for patients throughout the critical care areas of the hospital.

Fellows will also rotate in a variety of other critical care units, including the Trauma/Surgical ICUs, Medical/Cardiac ICUs and BMT/Onc ICUs as well as Pediatric ICUs at HMC, University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) and Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH).

A major highlight of our fellowship is the extensive training in point of care critical care ultrasound throughout fellowship, with direct guidance from faculty and a dedicated curriculum that will transform trainees into expert sonographers.

While the major focus of the fellowship is preparing the trainee for independent practice in neurocritical care, fellows will also have the opportunity to participate in the surgical care of patients with neurocritical illness.

Our major strengths are the clinical volume and complexity of patients; as a comprehensive stroke center and the only Level I trauma center in the region, Harborview routinely receives complex referrals from across the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Moreover, program faculty represent multiple training backgrounds and departments, ensuring a rich, multidisciplinary environment for training in neurocritical care.