Objective:

The Ataxia Clinical Training (ACT) program aims to educate movement disorders, genetics, and neuromuscular fellows on the diagnostic investigation and treatment of ataxias.

Background:

Ataxias are a group of rare, heterogeneous movement disorders that are challenging to diagnose and lack treatment options. Despite over 200 forms of ataxia-related disorders, clinical training for ataxias is highly variable and often minimal within fellowship training programs. To address educational gaps in medical training, the National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) developed an in-person educational program to expand exposure of neurology fellows to ataxia clinical care.

Design/Methods:

Thirty-six fellows attended a live, 3-day ataxia-focused training program in March 2023. The program included interactive clinical training sessions with ataxia patients and a series of didactic lectures by ataxia clinical experts on the diagnosis and comprehensive care of ataxic disorders. Fellows were required to take a test developed by ACT lecturers before and after the program to assess learnings, as well as complete a survey focused on their clinical exposure to ataxias prior to attending the meeting and their perspective on ACT impacts on their future practice.

Results:

Over 70% of attendees reported exposure to <20 ataxia patients prior to ACT. Fellows achieved an overall improvement of 18% in test scores after completion of the ACT program. In addition, 93% of attendees reported that the course had (1) better prepared them to diagnose and treat ataxias in the future, and (2) will impact their future care strategies. Finally, 73% indicated an interest in pursuing future opportunities in ataxia care and research.

Conclusions:

Based on survey results and learning assessments, the first live ACT program achieved its goal of improving comprehension and confidence of neurology fellows in the treatment of ataxic disorders.