Increasing the Reach of Autonomic Medicine Teaching: Report on a National Course for Resident Physicians
Glen Cook1, Ratna Bhavaraju-Sanka2, Philip Fischer3, Kelly Freeman4, Elisabeth Golden5, David Goldstein6, Safwan Jaradeh7, Laura Pace8, Sachin Paranjape9, Nathaniel Robbins10, Howard Snapper11
1Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 2UT Health Science Center @ San Antonio, 3Khalifa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, 4The Dysautonomia Project, 5University of Texas Health Science Center Tyler, 6National Institutes of Health, 7Dept of Neurology, 8Salt Lake City, UT, 9Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 10Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, 11Wellstar Cardiovascular Medicine
Objective:
To describe an intensive mini-fellowship style “Residents’ Course” in autonomic medicine.
Background:
Autonomic disorders are common. Exposure to autonomic medicine is limited in undergraduate and graduate medical education. Many centers do not have physicians qualified in autonomic medicine to provide clinical care or quality instruction.
Design/Methods:
The American Autonomic Society (AAS) established a three-day intensive course in autonomic medicine for second-year residents. Financial and logistical support was provided by a non-profit partner. Invitations to nominate trainees for the program were sent to randomly selected programs throughout the United States. Neurology, internal medicine, family practice and pediatrics training programs were included. Invitations were not sent to programs with autonomic specialists. Thirty-six residents were selected to attend. Residents were required to contribute a modest fee for participation. Transportation, housing, and room costs were otherwise provided. Six AAS faculty provided instruction. Residents completed pre, immediate post, and 6-week-post participation tests. Residents were required to provide a lecture to their home departments after the course.
Results:
The Residents’ Course was held January 25-28, 2023, in Clearwater, FL. The 36 resident participants represented Neurology (21), Internal Medicine (7), Pediatrics (5), and Family Medicine (3) training programs. Average pre-course test scores were 46.6%, with only 10/36 participants scoring >50%. Average immediate post-test score was 87.0%, all residents scoring 69% or higher. The 6-week post-test average was 79.8%, all residents scoring 62.5% or higher. Residents reported an average audience of 17 peers attending their lectures. This represents a potential total audience of 612 trainees receiving a lecture on autonomic medicine.
Conclusions:
Our trainee-focused course in autonomic medicine resulted in significantly increased performance on a knowledge-based exam. Participants' subsequent teaching at their home institutions resulted in a multiplicative benefit and broadened geographical reach. Future courses employing this model have a high potential for impact in the field of autonomic medicine.