Neurology Residency

The Neurology Residency position at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine is a three-year program designed to provide training in medical and surgical neurology and related fields. The residency program is designed to prepare the candidate for ACVIM board certification in Neurology. The program is supervised by Dr. Dominik Faissler, D.V.M., DECVN (Neurology).

The training will occur at the Foster Hospital for Small Animals in North Grafton, MA, which is approximately 40 miles west of Boston. The hospital has a high caseload of patients with medical and surgical neurological disorders. The hospital provides a 24-hour emergency service for the admission of more critical patients from the New England area. The resident will devote the majority of time to small animal neurology and neurosurgery with some consultations in food animal, exotics and equine neurology. The program also includes clinical rotations in internal medicine, soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, emergency and critical care, ophthalmology, radiology, cardiology and pathology. Emergency duties are shared with other house officers.

In-house diagnostic imaging facilities include CT (Canon Exceed Large Bore 160 slice), MRI (Philips lngenia 3.0 T), nuclear medicine and digital radiography. The neurology and neurosurgery service offer a complete electrodiagnostic lab with EMG, nerve conduction and evoked potential capability (Natus elite), EEG (Cadwell Arc), and ICP monitoring equipment (ICP express, Cadman) and a Soncure ultrasonic aspirator. A linear accelerator (Varian iX with SmartArc capability and OBI) is available on-site for treating neuro-oncology patients. In addition to clinical rounds with faculty and students, the resident will participate in weekly faculty supervised journal clubs, pathology conferences, clinical conferences, and seminars. The residency also provides the opportunity to attend a 2-week neuropathology rotation at the UMass Medical School in Worcester. The residents will have the opportunity to present a lecture for referring veterinarian CE day. As a contribution to the educational mission of the school and an opportunity to gain additional teaching experience, residents in the Department of Clinical Sciences are required to teach students on clinical rotations, assess student performance through student grades and clinical competency tracking, and instruct one clinical skills laboratory per year. 

Additional support for the program is provided by faculty with board certification in surgery, internal medicine, emergency and critical care, oncology, cardiology, ophthalmology, radiology, dermatology, anesthesiology, clinical and anatomical pathology, nutrition, and behavior. Collaboration with basic science faculty in the neurosciences is also available and supported.

Appointments are for 12 months, with annual renewal based on the resident's satisfactory performance. A certificate of residency is awarded to the candidate upon successful completion of the training program. Residents participate in the University benefits programs, including health and life insurance. Two weeks' annual vacation, a travel allotment, and professional liability insurance are provided. Participation in the TIAA-CREF retirement plan (conditional upon completion of the three-year program) is available. The hospitals have a dress code.

The applicant should submit his or her application through AAVC‘s Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program.

For further information, please contact Dr. Dominik Faissler at (508) 839-8758.

Tufts University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.