Basic Science Resident Curriculum

A three-year basic science education program curriculum for residents at the Annual Meeting is being created. The curriculum is primarily intended to help neurology residents learn the basic sciences on which clinical neurology is founded, as detailed in the Neurology Residency Review Committee (RRC) program requirements for residency education in neurology. Topics that will be covered over the three-year cycle include neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, neuropathology, neural development, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, and molecular biology and genetics. This curriculum will also help residents prepare for the AAN Residency In-service Training Examination (RITE). The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has reviewed the resident neuroscience curriculum and has approved it as part of a comprehensive lifelong learning program, which is mandated by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) as a necessary component of Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

This program would be two half-day programs each year offered on the first Saturday of the Annual Meeting. The programs would cover six topics in three years. At the end of three years, a comprehensive basic science syllabus would be available for residents on the AAN website. For example, the 2009 program covered neurogenetics and neurometabolic disorders.

A fee is charged for the courses. The courses are open not only to residents but to any other Annual Meeting attendees.