A team of dedicated AANS neurosurgeons, nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) developed a series of online courses to provide comprehensive training for advanced practitioners involved in neurosurgical practices. This online course covers foundational knowledge and skills needed during the onboarding phase, particularly for advanced practitioners who are new to the neurosurgical specialty, to teach and/or reinforce key concepts.

Principal Faculty:

Manish Aghi, MD, PhD

Erin Biernacki, PA-C

Nick Brandmeir, MD

Margaret Chapman, MD

Richard Chua, MD

Ephram Church, MD

Nader Dahdaleh, MD

Jaime LaViolette, ACNP

Natalie J Hall

John Heymann, MD

Meng Huang, MD

Liza Humes, PA-C

Ibrahim Hussain, MD

Pascal Jabbour, MD

Michael Johnson, PA-C

Josh Medow, MD

Michael L. Powe

John Ratliff, MD

Elias B. Rizk, MD

Atsu Saisho, PA-C

Thomas Scully, MD

Ryan Stauffer, PA-C

Luis Manuel Tumialán, MD

Christopher Zacko, MD

Content Reviewers:

Carolina G. Benjamin, MD

Vyacheslav Makler, DO

Planners:

Alice Edwards, PA-C

Robin Saiki, ACNP

Scott Simon, MD

Michael Wang, MD

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

1. List the rationale for different types of braces
2. Recognize presentation of herniated thoracic disk
3. List common tumors
4. Explain the rationale and presentation of spinal emergency patients
5. Recognize the mechanism, patient history, and physical exam finding of lumbar radiculopathy, lumbar stenosis, cervical radiculopathy, cervical stenosis, axial neck pain
6. Diagnose stroke from exam and history
7. Recognize signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure
8. Review computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain
9. Identify bones, disks, and nerves on a lumbar MRI and cervical MRI
10. Identify signs and symptoms of hydrocephalus in children
11. Identify anatomy and terminology as it relates to neurosurgical coding
12. Identify strategies to align advanced practice providers (APPs) utilization and payment policy