Though the US has nearly 15,000 neurologists, there are only an estimated 285 board-certified neuro-oncologists.  Accordingly, many neurology residents train in programs that do not have designated neuro-oncology rotations, though later may be expected to manage neurologic complications of cancer and diagnosis of new brain tumors.  Our Neuro-Oncology Section developed a curriculum outline of neuro-oncology competencies for neurology residents, which was published on the AAN website.  We aimed to deliver this curriculum remotely to neurology residency programs.  

For the pilot year, two residency programs were selected based on the criteria of not having a neuro-oncologist on faculty and the interest of the program director and chief resident.  The Neuro-Oncology Education Workgroup collaborated to develop a series of three teaching sessions aligned with the peer-reviewed AAN Neuro-Oncology curriculum on topics of initial work up of brain mass, clinical management of brain tumors and symptoms, and interactive cases. All sessions were delivered remotely through a televideo conferencing platform, with post-session evaluations.

Delivery of the neuro-oncology curriculum by Neuro-Oncologists in the AAN section was feasible and well received by neurology residents.  The information in the curriculum was new to nearly 90% of the residents responding to the evaluation.  Most participants found that the televideo platform was effective for learning.  The speakers were viewed as knowledgeable, the material presented was relevant to a general neurologist and at the right level for residency training.

A novel neurology residency curriculum in neuro-oncology can be delivered successfully through remote teaching by neuro-oncologists, thereby increasing exposure to neuro-oncology in residency programs.  This strategy may be useful for other neurological subspecialties.  We plan to expand our teaching to more programs and develop a sustainable plan for new groups of residents in our participating programs.