How Does Your Neurologist Keep Up With Advances in Epilepsy?

Knowledge in medicine evolves all the time, and part of being a doctor is that we have to continuously make sure that we are up to date on new developments. This is in fact mandatory, and, in order to renew our medical licenses, we are required to have a certain amount of “Continuous Medical Education.”

There are several ways in which doctors, including neurologists, can stay up to date and increase their knowledge. Annual conferences are held by most professional organizations. Professional organizations can be general, such as the American Medical Association (AMA), or for specialists. For neurologists, the largest American organization is the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and for epilepsy specialists the American Epilepsy Society. There are similar organizations in other countries and continents, but they tend to be smaller in terms of volume.

Most professional organizations have journals, and membership includes a subscription to the journal. There are several specialty (neurology) and subspecialty (epilepsy) journals. The main general neurology journals in the U.S. are Neurology (the journal of the American Academy of Neurology), Annals of Neurology (journal of the American Neurological Association), and JAMA Neurology (formerly Archives of Neurology, neurology journal of the American Medical Association). Subspecialty (epilepsy) journals have multiplied in the last decades and include Epilepsia, Epilepsy Research, Epilepsy and Behavior, Epileptic Disorders (European), and Seizure (European).

Large conferences are organized by professional organizations. The annual meeting of the AAN is held in the spring and in 2014 will be held in Philadelphia. The main U.S. epilepsy meeting is that of the American Epilepsy Society, which is at the end of the year (December 5 to 9) in Seattle, WA. The American Epilepsy Society is the American chapter of the International League Against Epilepsy. This is the largest epilepsy meeting, where new research is presented and numerous courses are held. It is attended by thousands of health care professionals from the U.S. and around the world, as well as industry representatives (for example pharmaceutical, device, and equipment companies). It provides a forum for many exchanges of ideas, research and newer developments in our field. Faculty from academic centers and “key opinion leaders” from epilepsy centers around the world share their research and experience on various aspects of seizures and epilepsy. The five days are packed with lectures, courses, symposia, interactive meetings, workshops, special interest groups, poster exhibits, and committee meetings.

The ILAE has many other conferences in other parts of the world (e.g., Latin America, Asia-Oceania, and Europe) and also an International Epilepsy Congress that was held in June 2013 in Montreal, Canada.

Lastly, there are also smaller less formal (regional and local) conferences continuously throughout the year, as well as online courses or “webinars”, which help doctors to remain up to date.