Neurology 636
Neuroscience & Spine Institute
Kalispell Regional Medical Center
Kalispell, MT
200 Commons Way
Kalispell, MT 59901
Site Director: Bret Lindsay, MD
blindsay@krmc.org
Sandra Absalonson
Neurology Clinic Practice Manager
sabsalonson@krmc.org
Phone: 406-871-2101
Pre-arrival Requirements
At least FOUR WEEKS prior to beginning your clerkship.
1. Email the following to both Sandra Absalonson and Amy Sterchi
- First name, Middle initial, Last name
- DOB
- Cell#
- Email address
- Current jpg photo for ID badge
2. Email the following to only Amy Sterchi
- Immunization records (obtain from myshots@uw.edu, 206-616-9074)
- Letter of Good Standing (LOGS): Required for this site. Please go to your E*Value profile and download the LOGS to send. Instructions if needed.
3. Visit the Kalispell Regional Health website to complete the online forms.
Amy Sterchi
Medical Student/Residency Coordinator
Kalispell Regional Medical Center
310 Sunnyview Lane, Room 225 (The Office Tower)
Phone: 406-751-7694
Fax: 406-756-3693
aster@krmc.org
Travel & Housing
Housing & transportation: You will need a car. You will receive mileage reimbursement for one roundtrip to and from Kalispell. You may also be eligible for one night’s stay in a hotel during your drive each way. Contact Scott Bailey sgbailey@uw.edu for mileage reimbursement and hotel information or to make other travel arrangements.
Shared housing will be in Kalispell or Whitefish, MT depending on availability. Amy Sterchi will help you set this up once your paperwork is in. General information.
First Day & Orientation
Clerkship orientation: You will need to view the away student orientation video on the Distance Learning page. Please let the clerkship coordinator know if you have questions or any difficulties viewing the video.
Equipment to bring: White coat and name tag, reflex hammer, tuning fork (128Hz), stethoscope, (ophthalmoscope recommended).
First day: See Amy Sterchi at 8:00AM to pick up your Student ID badge, parking sticker, and sign the housing agreement. Then off to Dr. Lindsay’s clinic that begins at 9:00AM.
Computer: Training for the EMR will take place in Dr. Lindsay’s clinic.
Course Requirements
Course requirements are listed below. Refer to the Distance Learning page for due dates.
Pocket syllabus: A “pocket syllabus” is available at your site. A printable (PDF) version is also available on the Pocket Syllabus page.
Cases: Two case write-ups are due each week. Further information is available in the orientation video and on the Cases page. Your assigned case numbers are on the Distance Learning page. Please note that your assigned case numbers are different than for the Seattle-based students. Weekly case answers and video lectures will be available on the Distance Learning page on Thursdays after 1PM.
Patient log: You are required to log in the patients you have seen each week. The log is described in the clerkship orientation video. Additional details are on the Patient Log page.
Clinical & Bioethical CEX exercises: You are required to do both a clinical and a bioethical mini-CEX for this course. See the Mini-CEX page for details.
Presentations: Presentation requirements are described in the orientation video and are available on the Presentations page.
Final exam: Your final exam will be held in Missoula unless you tell the clerkship director otherwise. Options for location include Billings, Bozeman or Spokane. There is no testing location in Kalispell. The scheduling/notification process runs through UW Testing Services and the contact email is somtests@uw.edu. See the Final Exam page for information about the exam.
About The Site
Students are expected to spend five days per week at Neuroscience and Spine Institute unless the clinic is closed (one-half to one day per week). On days the clinic is closed there is an on-call neurologist that you should work with. One day per month there is an opportunity for outreach clinics in Polson, Anaconda or Cut Bank, MT.
The best place to park is on-site.
The dress code for the site is business casual.
During the 4-weeks we hope you have exposure to the entire faculty in our neurology practice.
| Name | Subspecialty |
| Bret Lindsay, MD | Neuroimaging |
| TBA |
Dr. Bret Lindsay is the clerkship site director. He will observe student’s performance of the neurological examination within the first two weeks of the rotation, and provide feedback. Hopefully, this will happen in the last 2 weeks, as well, to ensure mastery of the neurological examination. The clinical mini-CEX should / can be performed with Dr. Lindsay or any of the clinic preceptors. Jenn Bullins is the clinic coordinator who has control of the schedules and is a good resource. Please tell the site director if you have any specific goals for the month so that your experience is as good as possible.
Inpatient experience: Our neurology group does have a largely consultative inpatient service. This includes telestroke. Students are expected to see 3-6 inpatients per week on average. The student is expected to follow their assigned patient from time of consultation until the resolution of the consult issue, write daily progress notes and be involved in writing medication, laboratory and diagnostic testing orders for the assigned patients. A reasonable guideline is to follow 1-3 patients at any time. Neurology, Neuroimaging and Neurosurgery conferences occur each week and should be attended by the student. There are no weekend or night call responsibilities.
Clinic experience: A combination of two different learning models will be employed in clinic. During the first week of student exposure the shadow model will be utilized wherein the student will follow the preceptor and observe different patient interaction styles. After the first week, the student will have autonomy to take a Hx and PE before reporting to the preceptor. Other opportunities include observing and or interpreting EEGs, EMG’s, and Neuroimaging studies. Access to Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery can be arranged during the month as well. Clinic typically runs from 9 AM to 5 PM. There are no weekend or night clinic responsibilities.