Five new online courses are now available in the education area of www.AANS.org. The AANS and the Society of Neurological Surgeons, known as the Senior Society, are introducing these sessions as convenient, easily accessible courses directly related to the core cognitive curriculum of neurosurgery. Developed principally for residents, the modules are also a valuable learning tool for physician assistants, nurses, or any neurosurgeon looking to review areas they might not see regularly in their practice.
The Senior Society is interested in working with the AANS to enhance the effectiveness of neurosurgical resident education. The modules are designed to reflect the consensus among program directors about the scope of study that should be encompassed in neurosurgical resident education. An added benefit is the potential utility for appropriate modules to be used for aspects of the ABNS Maintenance of Certification program.
The initial five modules were produced as a pilot program to gain appropriate feedback before considering a more extensive series. Charles J. Hodge, MD, of SUNY Upstate Medical University is leading the joint project.
“The idea for a series of online courses originated from a desire to establish a core curriculum with input from program directors, the ABNS and the AANS,” said Dr. Hodge. “Online courses were the most logical solution for educating a large audience in a consistent manner.”
The AANS took on the endeavor, funding and producing the initial five courses now available:
Technique for Ventriculostomy
Vincent C. Traynelis, MD, University of Iowa Hospitals
Communicating with Patients
Javad Hekmatpanah, MD, University of Chicago
Clinical Evaluation of the Comatose Patient
Charles Joseph Hodge Jr., MD, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Imaging Evaluation of Spine Stability
Philip R. Weinstein, MD, University of California – San Francisco
Spinal Cord Anatomy and Spinal Cord Injury Syndromes
Kim J. Burchiel, MD, FACS, Oregon Health & Science University
“The collaboration between the Senior Society and the AANS has produced an excellent pilot program,” stated AANS President Donald O. Quest, MD. “The editorial board is under the aegis of the Senior Society and represents department chairmen, program directors, ABNS and AANS leaders who are best qualified to select course topics and expert faculty.”
He noted that the AANS has the infrastructure to support the program and that the Web site offers the capability to customize testing and report features that enable program directors to track the progress of their residents in a secure environment.
Robert E. Harbaugh, MD, FACS, the residency program director at Penn State University and member of the AANS Maintenance of Certification Committee, helped direct the reporting capabilities for the series.
“Program directors will benefit from a central repository for the results of the online examinations,” remarked Dr. Harbaugh. “Through this new program, program directors can logon to MyAANS.org and view the examination scores for each module their residents have reviewed, while residents can also print out a report of what they have reviewed, including their scores, and submit it to their program directors for archiving in each resident’s dossier.”
The report tallies correct and incorrect answers and identifies the questions answered incorrectly so the participant can return to the online course to find the correct answer. Each participant can take the test as many times as he or she wishes. Only the most recent score will be stored and can be accessed by the participant, the resident’s resident program director, and designated senior leadership of the AANS and the Senior Society.
Why did the organizations opt for online sessions rather than publications, CDs or other delivery options? “Residents and young neurosurgeons are becoming progressively more computer literate,” said Dr. Hodge. “Online sessions provide a portable and easily varied learning experience. It is also faster to update than a printed publication, which makes it easier to keep material current.”
“The online medium is the most cost-effective way for the AANS to make educational modules available to as many people as possible,” Dr. Quest added. “This innovative educational program should be of great interest to our international colleagues who may find it difficult to travel to the United States for meetings.”
Kathleen T. Craig is AANS director of marketing.