Neurocritical Care Fellowship
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Overview
The Neurocritical Care Fellowship at the University of Illinois Chicago offers a comprehensive training in the management of complex neurological and neurosurgical critical illness through a collaborative, multidisciplinary model across two premier academic medical centers in Chicago. Our fellowship holds dual accreditation through the ACGME and UCNS and provides flexible one- and two-year training tracks.
The primary training site is UI Health, where fellows gain extensive hands-on clinical experience in a 22-bed Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit. This high-acuity unit provides robust exposure to the full spectrum of neurocritical care, including acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, status epilepticus, neuromuscular respiratory failure, and postoperative neurosurgical care. Fellows work closely with an experienced multidisciplinary team and are actively involved in patient management, procedures, and leadership of the neurocritical care team.
Fellows also rotate at UChicago Medicine, a nationally recognized center for neurotrauma, offering unique exposure to both blunt and penetrating brain and spinal cord injuries. This complementary training environment broadens fellows’ experience in complex trauma-related neurological emergencies and advanced critical care management.
Throughout training, fellows collaborate closely with specialists in stroke neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neurophysiology, and trauma surgery, fostering a highly interdisciplinary approach to patient care.
The program features a structured didactic curriculum covering all aspects of neurocritical care and general critical care medicine, including physiology, advanced monitoring, neuroimaging, EEG, and evidence-based management of neurological emergencies. Fellows also participate in inter-institutional educational activities with the other Chicago academic centers through the Chicago Alliance for Research and Education in Neurocritical Care (CARE), joining UIC, RUSH, UChicago and NMH during quarterly multidisciplinary case conferences and biannual journal clubs, promoting scholarly discussion and regional collaboration.
Research and scholarly activity are strongly encouraged. Fellows have access to multiple ongoing clinical research projects within the division and may participate in the program’s dedicated research clinic, providing opportunities for longitudinal patient follow-up and translational investigation. Fellows are supported in presenting their work at national meetings and contributing to peer-reviewed publications.
Together, these experiences provide fellows with a comprehensive training environment that prepares them to become leaders in neurocritical care, clinical scholarship, and multidisciplinary neurological critical care delivery.