The AANS convenes in San Francisco April 22-27 for the 2006 Annual Meeting, officially beginning a year-long celebration of the AANS diamond jubilee that will culminate with the 75th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
The San Francisco meeting is built on the scientific foundation of three plenary sessions, six scientific sessions that explore subspecialty areas, and six subspecialty section sessions. New scientific program topics that focus on the spine include spinal column tumors, spinal cord anomalies, complications and outcomes in lumbar interbody fusion and spinal access trauma management.
Opportunities for education and enjoyment abound at this 74th annual event. Following the Pain Section Satellite Symposium and weekend practical clinics, the Sunday evening opening reception provides an introduction to the multicultural city via a “streets of San Francisco” theme.
In the technical exhibit hall, more than 200 companies and 700 booths offer hands-on access to the latest technology. The exhibit hall also is the site of the “Top Gun: Neurosurgery Challenge,” the silent auction benefiting the NREF, and the technology pavilion, where free courses are available.
The meeting concludes on Thursday with the popular socioeconomic session, which focuses this year on pay-for-performance initiatives, the Neurosurgery With the Masters special scientific session, and the afternoon Japanese American Friendship Symposium.
Claim Annual Meeting CME in All-Online Process
With 20.75 category 1 continuing medical education credits at stake, 2006 AANS Annual Meeting registrants should be sure to claim credit by June 1 for the portions of the meeting they attended. Beginning this year, meeting registrants will use an entirely online process to self-report CME credit for the portions of the meeting they attended. The process, accessible during and after the meeting, begins with login at www.MyAANS.org using e-mail address and password. After selection of “CME Self-Report” and then the 74th AANS Annual Meeting, online instructions will guide users through completion and submission of the form in minutes.
Meeting attendees can enter or edit credit online at any time from April 22 to June 1. An informative worksheet, viewable online at www.aans.org/annual/2006 and provided in registration packets, can be a useful tool for remembering which credits were earned during the meeting, particularly for those who prefer to enter all earned CME credit in just one visit to www.MyAANS.org.
There is no need to self-report CME credit for ticketed educational programs, including breakfast seminars, practical clinics, the Pain Section Satellite Symposium and the Japanese American Friendship Symposium. The tickets collected for program admittance will generate the addition of appropriate credit to attendees’ CME records at www.MyAANS.org. Up to 35 category 1 credits are available for attending these programs. CME certificates that meeting attendees print on or after April 28 will reflect credit earned and submitted for the plenary sessions and the Thursday socioeconomic and special scientific sessions. Credit earned at ticketed events will be added to attendees’ records, and it will be reflected when attendees print CME certificates on or after May 10.
Special Speakers Lend Expertise and Perspective
George F. Will, Cushing Orator George Will is considered one of America’s foremost political commentators and columnists. His penetrating and incisive commentary on the national political scene offers a glimpse into what the future holds for public affairs, public policy and American society. A Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and Newsweek essayist, Will writes a popular syndicated column for The Washington Post syndicate that reaches nearly 500 newspapers throughout the United States and Europe. As a contributing analyst on ABC News, he has been presenting his hard-hitting and witty commentary on ABC’s “This Week” since 1981. Seven collections of his Newsweek and newspaper columns have been published, and he has published two books on baseball.Fremont P. Wirth, MD, AANS President Dr. Wirth is assistant clinical professor of the Department of Surgery (neurosurgery) at the Medical College of Georgia, and he is engaged in the practice of neurosurgery at the Neurological Institute of Savannah. A member of the AANS since 1980, Dr. Wirth served as AANS vice president from 2002 to 2003. Dr. Wirth has served as president of the Georgia Medical Society, president of the Southern Neurosurgical Society, vice president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, governor of the American College of Surgeons and director and vice chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. He received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University and completed his training at Johns-Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Barnes Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis.
Mark Bernstein, MD, Theodore Kurze Lecturer Dr. Bernstein’s topic is “The Voices of Neurosurgeons.” He is co-director of the Gamma Knife Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. Dr. Bernstein’s clinical and laboratory research interests are focused on malignant brain tumors. His current clinical interests include image guidance in surgery, awake craniotomy with cortical mapping, outpatient neurosurgery including lumbar discectomy and craniotomy for brain tumor, and outcomes and complications of neurosurgical interventions.
Mitchel S. Berger, MD, FACS, Ronald L. Bittner Lecturer Dr. Berger is chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California at San Francisco. He is the Kathleen M. Plant Distinguished Professor and director of the Brain Tumor Research Center at UCSF. His primary clinical interests are the treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors in adults and children and epilepsy related to brain tumors, and he has extensive expertise in intraoperative mapping of the brain. Dr. Berger received his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine, followed by an internship and residency at UCSF.
Arthur L. Day, MD, Richard C. Schneider Lecturer Dr. Day is professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School. He is director of the Cerebrovascular Center and Neurologic Sports Injury Center, as well as associate chairman and program director of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. His clinical interests are in cerebrovascular disease and sports medicine. He graduated from Louisiana State University Medical School and completed his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Florida.
Michael Merzenich, PhD, Van Wagenen Lecturer Dr. Merzenich discusses “Infant and ‘Adult’ Brain Plasticity: Relevance to Neurosurgical Practice.” For more than three decades, he has been a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research. He is the Francis A. Sooy Professor at the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences at the University of California at San Francisco, and he leads the scientific team at Posit Science Corporation.
Volker K. H. Sonntag, MD, FACS, Rhoton Family Lecturer Dr. Sonntag will discuss “The Journey of Spinal Neurosurgery.” He is currently the vice-chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute, director of the Residency Program, and professor of Clinical Surgery at the University of Arizona. A native of Germany, he graduated from the University of Arizona Medical School, followed by his internship at the University of Arizona and his residency at Tufts New England Medical Center Hospital.
Annual meeting details are available online at www.aans.org/annual/2006.