Neurocritical Care Fellowship

The Duke Department of Neurology's Neurocritical Care Fellowship program trains neurointensivists with an emphasis on broad based training in critical care and creating future leaders of neurocritical care.

Our Neurocritical Care Fellowship program trains academic-minded neurointensivists with an emphasis on superb clinical training and future career planning. It is accredited by UCNS and have applied for ACGME accreditation. Our program accepts 3 fellows per year. 

The Duke Neurology Department recognizes that diversity is a necessary component of its mission of world-class patient care, education, and research. Our program is committed to building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive community where all members thrive in a welcoming and engaging environment. Read more about our diversity and inclusion efforts across the Department here.

“I will always be thankful to Duke and, in particular, the Neurocritical Care faculty and staff for providing me with such an amazing fellowship experience. The kindness and patience I received was unparalleled. They went above and beyond to help me meet both my educational and research goals, with phenomenal mentorship. In light of the training that I received, I graduated the program feeling confident in my skills as a neurointensivist and was prepared to be an attending physician. Duke will always have my gratitude.” - Rana Moosavi, MD, NCC Fellow 2018-2020

The Duke Neurocritical Care Fellowship trains neurointensivists with an emphasis on broad based training in critical care and creating future leaders of neurocritical care. It is now accredited through both United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties and ACGME.

The 24-month program is intended for those who have completed clinical training in Neurology, Emergency Medicine, or Internal Medicine. The 12-month program is intended for those who have completed neurosurgery residency or post-graduate fellowship training in anesthesia critical care, or surgical critical care.

The fellowship fosters the transition to attending-level role while providing “hands-on” critical care experience. Fellows complement their critical care training with an ideal of mix of time spent in the NeuroICU as well as Surgical ICU, and Medical ICU at the Duke University Hospital and general critical care ICU at Duke Regional Hospital. They also have a broad array of off-service rotations and electives to choose from. Besides clinical rotations, fellows have 25% of their time protected to develop research projects of their choice, and are very well supported in their academic endeavors with individually tailored mentorship and a large number of available resources at Duke including Duke Clinical Research Institute and Duke AHEAD.

All our fellows work with a team of diversely trained 12 neurointensivists from the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Emergency Medicine, and Anesthesiology. A unique aspect of our fellowship is the diverse skillsets of our attendings from this various training background. Several of our faculty members leads active research programs in translational as well as clinical research. Additionally, a team of neurology residents, neurosurgery and anesthesia interns, and 20 critical care nurse practitioners staff the Neuroscience ICU 24 hours a day.

Duke has outstanding neurosurgeons and neurointerventionalists with large caseloads. The Neurosurgery Department, which includes more than 35 neurosurgeons, ranks amongst the top Neurosurgical departments in the country. Our team works closely with faculty from the Department of Neurosurgery, and has primary responsibility for all patients within the NeuroICU. Since 2020 the NeuroICU has moved to the newly opened state-of-the-art Duke Central Tower.

Duke University Hospital is an internationally known tertiary- and quaternary-care academic medical center with 957 inpatient beds and 51 operating rooms. Duke is a Level-1 trauma center and comprehensive stroke center. U.S. News & World Report has consistently named Duke University Hospital as the top ranked hospital in the state of North Carolina.

Contact Information

Program Director:
Christian Hernandez, MD
Christian.E.Hernandez@duke.edu

Associate Program Director
Cina Sasannejad, MD
Cina.Sasannejad@duke.edu

Fellowship information requests:
Program Coordinator:
Christine Berry
Christine.Berry@duke.edu
919-613-0314

 

Neurocritical Care Fellowship Rotations 1st Year Fellow 2nd Year Fellow
Neuro ICU 21

23

Duke University Hospital SICU 4 4
Durham Regional Hospital ICU 4 4
Duke University Hospital MICU 0 4
Elective 17 19
Vacation 4 4
  • There is no home call or night float during the fellowship
  • The fellowship schedule is structured to allow graduated responsibilities and 2nd year fellows will be rounding independently with attending feedback.

Applications for Duke Neurocritical Care Fellowship program should be made via SFMatch. This site contains important deadline dates to review before applying.

Applicants should review the employment requirements for all Duke graduate medical education trainees at this page. Applicants who do not qualify for employment cannot be ranked.

For questions about the Neurocritical Care Fellowship program, contact Program Coordinator Christine Berry at Christine.Berry@duke.edu or 919-613-0314.

First-Year Fellows

Neurocritical Care Fellow
Neurocritical Care Fellow

Second-Year Fellows

Neurocritical Care Fellow
Neurocritical Care Fellow

Graduates

Neurocritical Care Fellow, Class of 2022
Neurocritical Care Fellow, Class of 2022
Neurocritical Care Fellow, Class of 2022

Recent News

Gabriel Torrealba-Acosta, MD, hadn’t thought much about neurology until his final year of medical school, when a trusted mentor’s enthusiasm convinced him to pursue the ever-changing, challenging field.

The month of September saw 20 new peer-reviewed journal articles articles and one book chapter from members of the Duke Neurology Department.

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Sally You, DO, had been interested in the brain and consciousness since childhood, but in medical school she wanted a practice where she could continue to address a holistic view of patients’ health that went beyond the central and peripheral nervous system.