A Night with a Neurologist

Learn to celebrate the little successes, go back to the fundamentals, remember to have fun — these are all pieces of advice that Vivek Veluchamy, M.D., shared with Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine students during its Night with a Pediatric Neurologist event.

The evening event was hosted by NEOMED’s American Academy of Neurology-Student Interest Group for Neurology as part of the University’s 2019 NeuroPsych Week. Dr. Veluchamy, who doubles as a neurologist at Akron Children’s Hospital and as an assistant professor of pediatrics at NEOMED, walked students through the ups and downs of being a pediatric neurologist.

From advances in neurocritical care and neuroimmunology to improvements in neurogenetics and gene therapy, technology is making this an incredibly exciting time to be in the field of neurology, said Dr. Veluchamy. But he also reminded students of two very important pieces of information: patients’ history and exams.

“Despite all the fancy tests available these days, physical exams will tell the patient’s story and those results will help you confirm and diagnose,” said Dr. Veluchamy.

Speaking from experience

Along with a number of MRI examples and patient success stories, Dr. Veluchamy offered students several practical resources.

Dr. Veluchamy recommended three books every student who is interested in neurology should read:

• The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, by Oliver Sacks, M.D.
• Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole, by Alan Roper, M.D., and Brian Burrell
• Phantoms in the Brain: Probing Mysteries of the Human Brain, by V.S. Ramachandran, M.D., Ph.D., and Sandra Blakeslee

 

He also encouraged students to take advantage of online resources available for free from the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society.