Current Environment:

Michael Rivkin | Education

Medical School

University of Virginia School of Medicine

1984, Charlottesville, VA

Internship

Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital

1985, Cleveland, OH

Residency

Pediatrics

Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital

1988, Cleveland, OH

Residency

Pediatric Neurology

New England Medical Center

1992, Boston, MA

Fellowship

Boston Children's Hospital

1993, Boston, MA

Michael Rivkin | Certifications

  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Child and Adolescent Neurology)

Michael Rivkin | Professional History

I am both a pediatrician and a child neurologist, and my practice specializes in children with cerebrovascular disorders and stroke. I completed residencies in pediatrics and pediatric neurology, followed by a fellowship in neurology at Boston Children's Hospital -- broad training that allows me to treat the whole child.

I founded and direct the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Boston Children's Hospital. This program, novel at its inception at Boston Children’s Hospital, brings together care for these children from clinicians in the disciplines of neurology, hematology, psychiatry, neuropsychology, neuroradiology, neurosurgery, interventional neuroradiology, occupational therapy and physical therapy. In addition, we instituted a fellowship to accompany this new program, which is designed to train pediatric neurologists to evaluate and care for children who have stroke and cerebrovascular disorders.

We are excited to have created Boston Children's Hospital's acute response team for pediatric stroke known as the "Stroke Stat" system. This important service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assess and treat children who present with symptoms of acute stroke at Boston Children’s Hospital. This system of evaluation is designed to assess these patients rapidly in order to determine if they can be treated with  tissue plasminogen activator or intravascular treatments that have greatest efficacy when instituted early and accurately.

I also established and direct the Neurology Intermediate Care Unit, the only one of its kind. My service provides neurological consultations to patients in affiliated intensive care units, including the NICU and the cardiology ICU. Additionally, I am an attending physician for in-patient general neurology, intensive care neurology and neurologist of the week services. I am experienced in the management of increased cranial pressure, cerebral perfusion and neuroprotection.

Dr. Rivkin serves as an expert for the Department of Neurology for Boston Children's Hospital Precision Medicine Service. For more information about the Precision Medicine Service please visit bostonchildrens.org/precisionmed.

Michael Rivkin | Media

Caregiver Profile

Meet Dr. Michael Rivkin

Michael Rivkin | Publications

I grew up wanting to help people in a tangible way. My family has a strong tradition of volunteering to help those in need through our synagogue, a value that was instilled in me from a young age.

My approach to care is based on that compassion. I try to think very hard about what I would do if a patient were my own child. As early as medical school, it was already clear to me that I wanted to treat children. The opportunity to contribute to the health and development of children was extremely appealing and interesting to me, and providing care to children and their families is satisfying and enjoyable.

I completed my residency in general pediatrics before deciding to specialize in neurology. I became fascinated by stroke and cerebrovascular disorders, and found the amount we have yet to learn about the brain inspiring. Consequently, I feel that these are exciting times to practice and to perform research in the field of child neurology and in pediatric stroke and cerebrovascular disorders, specifically.

When I started down my path to become a doctor, I had no idea I would wind up doing so much research. But I have been surprised by the fascination the research has held for me, and conducting research on brain development has become an integral part of my approach to care.