AAN Education Research Grant

The AAN Education Research Grant program offers financial support to promote educational research in neurology. The Academy's Education Research Subcommittee is accepting proposals submitted by August 25, 2008.

The AAN will grant two to four awards of $5,000 to $10,000 based on the proposal and merits of the project. The goals for the grant are to help improve the neurologic education of AAN members, including neurology residents and fellows, medical students, and non-neurologists, as well as promote career development of neurologic educators.

Application Deadlines

Applications must be received no later than 6:00 p.m., Central Standard Time, Monday, August 25, 2008. The timeline for proposed grant projects to be executed is from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009.

2006 Education Grant Winners:

Colin Chalk, MD
"The Script Concordance Test: A New Tool for Assessing Clinical Judgment in Neurology"

Lori Schuh, MD
"Study of Inter-rater Reliability, Variability and Concurrent Validity of the Neurology Examination Exercise"

2007 Education Grant Winners:

Thomas I. Cochrane, MD, MBA
"Improving Ethical, Relational, and Communication Skills for Neurology Residents"

ABSTRACT
Residents in child and adult neurology will participate in simulated discussions with patients and families, before and after participating in a modified version of the Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills ("PERCS") at Children's Hospital Boston. Subjects' performance will be evaluated before and after the program, using a "360 degree" assessment tool, a widely used instrument designed for assessing ACGME Core Competencies. The instrument will be administered by blinded independent faculty observers, peers, the actor participants, and subjects themselves. We predict an improvement in subjects' scores using this tool, improved ability to self-evaluate interpersonal and communication skills, and improved clinical confidence. The PERCS program combines didactic sessions with live-actor simulated discussions, allowing participants to gain first-hand experience in conducting difficult conversations, with the added benefit of direct feedback from both the actors and faculty with experience in neurology, medical ethics, and communication skills training. This program should be "portable" and can be adopted by other institutions interested in improving resident training in interpersonal and communication skills and ethical decision-making. We have support from faculty in the Department of Neurology and the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Bioethics.

Richard S. Isaacson, MD
"Evaluating the effectiveness of Continuum as a Teaching Tool for Medical Students"

ABSTRACT
Continuum: Lifelong learning in Neurology® is a highly regarded and popular continuing medical education tool published by the American Academy of Neurology. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology has approved Continuum as part of a comprehensive lifelong learning program, which is mandated by the American Board of Medical Specialties as a necessary component of maintenance of certification. While Continuum has been developed specifically for the practicing clinician, medical students rotating on their neurology clerkship also have much to gain from incorporating this structured, evidence-based resource into their educational armamentarium. Pilot studies have suggested that reading Continuum leads to statistically significant increases in medical knowledge. Additionally, Continuum was favorably rated on satisfaction scales related to improving patient care. We seek to study the effectiveness of Continuum as a teaching tool in undergraduate medical education, and with collaboration between multiple sites. Students will be randomized into two groups, and data collection will be optimized by using an interactive audience response system. Outcomes assessment will be performed via a multi-center, web-based survey/database tool. Standardized multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions will be used to assess medical knowledge pre- and post-curriculum implementation. Comprehensive student satisfaction surveys will also be used for outcomes assessment. The expectation of this study is to determine whether Continuum improves medical student medical knowledge on testing, and increases adherence to evidence-based practice on patient case simulation, a surrogate marker for improved patient care.