At the ABN 2024 conference, ACNR Publisher Rachael Hansford spoke to a variety of delegates to get their views on current topics in neurology. In this interview, neurology registrar Albert Joseph talks about his clinical fellowship in behavioural neurology.
Rachael Hansford
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Albert Joseph
I’m a neurology registrar. I was training in East London until about a year ago, when I started a clinical fellowship at King’s in South London in Behavioural Neurology and Neuropsychiatry. This is the overlap between neurology and psychiatry. We work with functional neurological disorder, alongside cognitive neurology and movement disorders. We also liaise with psychiatrists on complex cases that may have a neurological basis. It’s a fascinating and evolving area.
Rachael Hansford
Can you tell me a little bit about these fellowships? Is this a new thing?
Albert Joseph
The idea of doing a year of clinical fellowship after completing training is becoming increasingly popular. It used to be more common for people to pursue a research PhD to develop a specialist interest. Nowadays, not everyone undertakes a PhD, but many still want to gain deeper expertise in a particular area.
A fellowship provides the opportunity to spend one or two years exploring a specialist interest within a specialist centre. During standard training, much of the focus is on service provision. A fellowship allows you dedicated time to develop your own interests and clinical expertise. That’s the appeal, and it’s certainly becoming more common.
Rachael Hansford
And how are they funded?
Albert Joseph
It depends on the location. At King’s, funding is a mixture of charity and departmental support. My fellowship is open to both neurologists and psychiatrists, so applicants can come from either specialty. However, most neurology fellowships are specifically designed for neurologists and may have different funding structures.
Rachael Hansford
And what attracted you to that? I know there’s been a lot more talk about that crossover between neurology and psychiatry, but what attracted you particularly to that?
Albert Joseph
I did some psychiatry training before moving into neurology, and I’ve always been drawn to the overlap between the two. Neurology involves a great deal of managing complex behaviours, and I was attracted to functional neurological disorder relatively early in my career.
It’s an area where, contrary to common assumptions, you can make a significant difference — often through clear explanation and supportive management. I find it both clinically meaningful and intellectually fascinating.
Rachael Hansford
What have you found most interesting at the conference?
Albert Joseph
There’s been a huge amount of interesting content. The opening lecture on dissociative seizures was excellent, followed by a session on pain — which is highly relevant, as we see a lot of pain in FND. There have also been several talks on cognitive syndromes.
Overall, the programme reflects the growing interest in this field and increasing knowledge about the underlying neurobiology. There was also a very good special interest group meeting this morning. The ABN feels like an increasingly strong and welcoming place for this area of work — it’s clearly recognised as an important part of neurology.
Rachael Hansford
Anything else that you would like to add? Any views about your experience of training, your experience of the ABN that you wanted to discuss or share?
Albert Joseph
It’s a great opportunity to meet new people. Yesterday evening I chose to have dinner with people I hadn’t met before, and I ended up speaking with some veterinary neurologists who had come to learn more about human neurology. We had a fascinating conversation — they were telling me about Alzheimer’s disease in cats and dogs, and autoimmune encephalitis in cats as well.
Experiences like that are exactly why conferences matter. You need to attend, to network, to have those unexpected conversations. The ABN provides a very friendly environment in which to do that.
Rachael Hansford
And that interdisciplinary mix is really important.
Albert Joseph
Yes, I’ve even started now referring to myself as a human neurologist!
Rachael Hansford
So would you recommend neurology as a career to any budding medical students?
Albert Joseph
It took me a while to find my place within medicine, but I’ve really enjoyed neurology. The more I practise it, the more I appreciate its depth. It’s an intellectually rich field with enormous variety — from movement disorders to cognition to neuropsychiatry.
There truly is something for everyone within neurology. I think it’s a wonderful specialty — though I admit I may be slightly biased.
