Meet the Course Director: Eric T. Eggenberger DO, FAAN

Dr. Eric T. Eggenberger, DO, FAAN, is course director of the popular neuro-ophthalmology course "Top 10 Neuro-ophthalmic Diagnoses You Can't Afford to Miss" taught along with Wayne T. Cornblath, MD, FAAN. The course will be held Saturday, April 12 at 6:00 p.m. AAN.com caught up with Dr. Eggenberger for an update on this upcoming course.

AAN.com: What will the format be for your course this year?
Eggenberger: We present 10 unknown cases and ask the audience to work through the evaluation, diagnosis, and management. We award prizes for helpful answers. This course is not a straight "listen to the lecture" type of didactic program. It has been a lively give-and-take with the audience in the past, and this format keeps things fresh and interesting while allowing participants to ask questions specific to their practices.

AAN.com: Who will be the faculty this year? Is there anything attendees should know about your faculty?
Eggenberger: Wayne Cornblath and I developed this course and have shared the course directorship. Although we are from rival Big Ten schools (Michigan State University and University of Michigan), we try to leave that rivalry outside the lecture room in the interest of education and fun—although Michigan did beat MSU by 20 in hoops last [game].

AAN.com: What do you mean when you say a "diagnosis you can't afford to miss"?
Eggenberger: One of the criteria for the cases we present is diagnoses that require some timely intervention; we do not present cases in which there is no therapy because missing an untreatable diagnosis doesn't change treatment.

AAN.com: Who should attend? Who is your target audience?
Eggenberger: I think the comprehensive neurologist is our primary target, although any clinician or resident seeing neuro-ophthalmology cases could find the course instructional.

AAN.com: How many cases will be discussed?
Eggenberger: We have limited ourselves to 10 cases in a rank order or sorts, and this seems to be about as many as we can get though in the allotted time given the often lively discussion.

AAN.com: Will there be audience participation this year?
Eggenberger: Audience participation is a key part of the course; our goal is active dialogue with the audience concerning thoughts about evaluation, management, diagnosis, and therapy.

AAN.com: How did you go about picking the cases for the course this year?
Eggenberger: Our case selection criterion for this course has been relatively common diagnoses for which delay in therapy may be detrimental. We purposefully avoid "zebras" and untreatable conditions with the idea that missing a rare untreatable diagnosis will not significantly impact medical management. These are all concepts and diagnoses we entertain frequently in practice.

AAN.com: Anything special attendees should know about teaching methods or how the course will be run this year?
Eggenberger: We strongly encourage audience participation, ideas, and questions. Our goal is interaction just below what might be seen on The Jerry Springer Show, although no special equipment is required.

AAN.com: Thanks for talking with us. Attendees wishing to take this course can register online. Here's a recap of the course information and schedule:

Course No: 1KP.008
Title: Top 10 Neuro-ophthalmic Diagnoses You Can't Afford to Miss
Date/Time: Saturday, April 12 at 6:00 p.m.