Education Research: Multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology fellowship training status in the United States

Curriculum Innovations: Virtual Didactics as a Tool for Harmonizing Education About Rare Topics in Neuroimmunology

Introduction and Problem Statement

Neuroimmunology is a rapidly evolving subspecialty. At this time, fellowship training is not standardized. Discrepancies exist in fellowship programs across the United States, including in faculty expertise in rarer neuroimmunologic conditions. Many graduating fellows feel uncomfortable managing the full spectrum of diseases within neuroimmunology.

Objectives

To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a series of live, virtual, interinstitutional seminars educating neuroimmunology fellows on topics that may be infrequently encountered by trainees.

Methods and Curriculum Description

A steering committee of 6 neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis fellowship program directors selected 18 topics felt to be high yield but representing unique areas of expertise. A live, interactive seminar series was organized. Recognized experts on each topic led seminars using a teleconferencing platform over the 2020-2021 academic year. Recordings were subsequently made available for asynchronous learning. Trainees were surveyed before and after the seminar series and comfort levels with each topic were recorded.

Results and Assessment Data

An average of 41 trainees participated in each live seminar and an additional average of 17 trainees viewed each seminar on demand. Trainee comfort levels with each topic increased after the seminar series was completed. An average of 72% of trainees self-identified as at least "comfortable" with each topic after the series compared with 26% beforehand (p < 0.0001).

Discussion and Lessons Learned

A year-long series of live, interactive, interinstitutional seminars focusing on unique topics within a single subspecialty represents an effective way to increase trainee comfort levels with such topics.

Consensus Curriculum for Fellowship Training in Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology

Management of multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunologic disorders has become increasingly complex because of the expanding number of recognized neuroimmune disorders, increased number of therapeutic options, and multidisciplinary care management needs of people with multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunologic disorders. More subspecialists are needed to optimize care of these patients, and many fellowship programs have been created or expanded to increase the subspecialty workforce. Consequently, defining the scope and standardizing fellowship training is essential to ensure that trainees receive high-quality training. A workgroup was created to develop a consensus fellowship curriculum to serve as a resource for all current and future training programs. This curriculum may also serve as a basis for future accreditation efforts.

Preventive neurology concepts for training the next-generation and closing gaps in real-world Multiple Sclerosis Care

The field of Multiple sclerosis (MS) has entered an area of growth in the understanding of the MS immune dysregulation that has led to an impressive therapeutics expansion. However, results of surveys and proceedings of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) support the notion that US neurology residents have fragmented exposure to MS training during residency, resulting in learning gaps in diagnosis, management and follow up of patients with MS. There are annual educational offerings by MS academic societies but limited and tailored to trainees interested in MS/neuroimmunology subespecialization. Therefore, the acquisition of MS clinical skills by all neurology residents is essential for the practice of unsupervised neurology after board certification. Here, we review the current elements and goals of care that are critical for the learning of trainees. We present these elements in a framework focused on current unmet needs to avoid progression in MS in a real-world setting, tailored to preventive and personalized care: The "Multiple Sclerosis 4-square Educational Matrix". This approach could help training neurologist and patients through the essential steps of care. The trainee side emphasizes a goal-oriented approach to satisfy the educational and management components of MS in four areas: burden of symptoms, burden of disease activity, personalized risk factors and personalized patient education. The patient side is similar but simplified for their benefit. This structured approach is based on the principles of personalized preventive neurology and could be useful to solidify trainees and patient education, promoting proactive participation of patients in vital areas of their care, in an anticipatory, and goal-oriented manner. We aim to improve the unmet needs at an individual level and the value of care of populations at risk for progression and disability in MS.

Outcomes and future directions for neuroimmunology/multiple sclerosis fellowship training: Survey of recent trainees

BACKGROUND

Neuroimmunology/multiple sclerosis is a rapidly evolving, but still poorly defined subspecialty. Fellowship training is not standardized, and there is substantial variability across sites. Outcomes of fellowship training have not yet been studied. We therefore examined early career choices of neuroimmunology/MS fellowship program graduates and solicited the perspective of current and recent trainees on their fellowship experience as well as opportunities to improve neuroimmunology education.

METHODS

We developed a questionnaire to collect information about fellowship training experiences and current medical practice. We identified recent graduates based on records from US training programs and the National MS Society and electronically sent the survey to current trainees and recent graduates (within the last 5 years).

RESULTS

We identified 179 current/recent trainees and successfully reached 157 with survey distributions. Ninety-five individuals (60.5%) returned surveys. Most graduates assumed an academic practice (68%) focused mostly or exclusively on MS and other CNS neuroimmune diseases (55%), and practiced in regions where there were ≥5 other neuroimmunology specialists (51%). Graduates felt well-prepared to manage diagnoses of MS and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders but their comfort with rarer CNS neuroimmune diseases varied substantially. Basic immunology, neuro-rheumatology, grant writing and neuro-rehabilitation were identified as high impact areas for cross-disciplinary didactic training. The majority of recent trainees (57%) favored standardizing a core neuroimmunology curriculum, and 48% favored developing a subspecialty certification.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to examine practice outcomes and trainee experiences for neuroimmunology training programs. We anticipate that these data will help educators define a core curriculum for the subspecialty and identify complementary skill sets that enhance the traditional clinic-based model of teaching.