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Program Details
Neuromuscular medicine is a sub-discipline of neurology that includes abnormalities of the motor neuron, nerve roots, plexus, peripheral nerves, neuromuscular junction and muscle.
Specialists in neuromuscular disorders possess specialized knowledge in the science, clinical evaluation or clinical management of disorders of the peripheral nervous system. This encompasses knowledge of the pathophysiology, pathology, diagnosis and treatment of these disorders at a level that is significantly beyond the training and knowledge expected of a general neurologist.
The Department of Neurology at Penn State Health/Penn State College of Medicine is committed to excellence in patient care and clinical teaching services. To that end, the training in the Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship is a major goal of the faculty. The department takes pride in its role as part of a university teaching hospital and gives teaching a high priority. Faculty believe that medicine is both a science and an art, and recognize that a rational scientific approach to patient treatment and care must be coupled with respect, empathy and a concern for both patient and family.
The curriculum is built around active patient-care experiences. These experiences are the intellectual backbone of neurology. Since this process can best be taught by demonstration, the program encourages one-on-one teaching opportunities between faculty and fellow. It is in such settings that fellows become colleagues. Attending physicians are always available to discuss patient-care issues and serve as guides in the process of fellowship training. The high ratio of eight full-time attending staff members to one fellow allows ample opportunity for one-on-one teaching. The program’s size provides the ability to tailor the fellowship to meet specific requirements and situations.
Learn More about the Fellowship
General Application Information
Before starting a fellowship, the candidate will have successfully completed an ACGME-approved residency program in neurology. The candidate must be board-eligible or board-certified in neurology.
The program participates in the fellowship application timeline in conjunction with the AANEM/AAN. Residents can apply for available fellowships beginning March 1. The Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center will be offering interviews from March through May. Offers will be made after June 1.
Interested applicants should submit the following:
- Cover letter
- Updated CV
- Three letters of recommendation (one from the residency program director)
Materials may be submitted by mail to:
Sankar Bandyopadhyay, MD
Fellowship Program Director
Department of Neurology, EC037
30 Hope Dr.
Hershey, PA 17033
Materials may also be submitted electronically via the secure filedrop link below.
Submit application materials here
Visa Requirements
Applicants must be one of the following:
- A U.S. citizen
- A permanent resident (green card holder)
- The holder of a J-1 visa sponsored through ECFMG
The institution does not sponsor any other visas.
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Penn State Health
Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system serving patients and communities across 29 counties of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to improve health through patient care, research, education and community outreach.
In December 2017, the system partnered with Highmark Health to facilitate creation of a value-based, community care network in the region. The shared goal of Highmark and Penn State Health is to ensure patients in the community are within:
- 10 minutes of a Penn State Health primary care provider
- 20 minutes of Penn State Health specialty care
- 30 minutes of a Penn State Health acute care facility
Learn more about Penn State Health
Penn State Health Children’s Hospital (left), Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (center) and Penn State Cancer Institute (right)
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
500 University Dr., Hershey, Pa., 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)
- The health system’s 548-bed flagship teaching and research hospital
- The only medical facility in Pennsylvania accredited as both an adult and a pediatric Level I (highest-level) trauma center
- Dedicated surgical, neuroscience, cardiovascular, trauma and medical intensive care units
- Accredited Life Lion critical-care transport providing more than 1,100 helicopter and approximately 750 ground ambulance transports per year
- More than 1,300 faculty members and more than 650 residents and fellows
- Approximately 28,500 admissions, 75,000 emergency department visits, 1.1 million outpatient visits and 32,000 surgical procedures annually
- Designated as a Magnet hospital three times
Learn more about Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State Health Children’s Hospital
600 University Dr., Hershey, Pa. 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)
- A five-story, 263,000-square-foot-facility built in 2013
- Three-floor expansion opened in November 2020
- Level IV (highest-level) neonatal intensive care unit
- Level I (highest-level) pediatric trauma center designation
- Dedicated pediatric operating rooms
- More than 150,000 pediatric outpatient visits and approximately 5,000 pediatric patient discharges annually
Welcome to Hershey
More About Hershey
Interested in learning more about living and working in Hershey, Pa.? See details here:
Wellness, including emotional, spiritual, social and physical health, is a crucial component to training and to becoming a professional, compassionate and resilient physician. Self-care is a skill which must be continually practiced and reinforced. Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health are committed to addressing wellness among residents and fellows, with multiple resources readily available.
Institutional resources
Graduate medical education resources
Institutional Resources
Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine celebrate, embrace and support the diversity of all patients, faculty, staff, students and trainees.
Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
In keeping with this, Penn State Health has an active Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with various programs, networks and resource groups, including:
- Regular talks and lectures on diversity, equity and inclusion
- Periodic town halls on topics such as eradicating racism and creating a culture of inclusiveness
- An allyship support group
- Many affinity resource network groups, including:
- Disability Affinity Resource Network Group
- Group on Women in Medicine and Science
- Interfaith Affinity Resource Network Group
- LGBTQ and Allies Affinity Resource Network Group
- Military/Veterans Affinity Resource Network Group
- Multicultural Affinity Resource Network Group
- NextGen
- A new organization specifically for trainees, the Network of Underrepresented Residents and Fellows
Learn more about the Penn State Health Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Learn more about the College of Medicine’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Belonging
Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education
The vision at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health is to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to provide culturally excellent health care and research for an increasingly diverse U.S. population. The Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education was formed to help meet that goal.
Learn more about the Office for Culturally Responsive Health Care Education
Office for a Respectful Learning Environment
In addition, the institution does not tolerate discrimination, biases, microaggression, harassment or learner mistreatment of any kind, and any concerns are immediately addressed by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment.
Learn more about the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment
Fellow Honors and Recognitions
Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accept ongoing nominations for the Exceptional Moments in Teaching award.
The award, given monthly by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, accepts nominations from College of Medicine students who are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, fellows, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience. See more about the award here.
Previous nominees from the Neuromuscular Medicine Fellowship are listed here. Click the + next to a nominee name to read their nominator’s comments.
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Program Leadership
Sankar Bandyopadhyay, MD
Program Director
