AAN Anti-racism Education Program Now Offering CME

March 11, 2024

A unique online program is joining the AAN’s huge lineup of courses, journals, and events that offer continuing medical education (CME) credits: the Anti-racism Education Program.

The program was launched in 2022 as a “practical approach” to anti-racism for neurology professionals, said program work group chair Nimish A. Mohile, MD, FAAN. After a successful pilot in various residency programs, it now offers a total of 16 CME credits—four per module. The course is available to AAN members for free.

“The program helps participants understand the adverse impact of racism on our health care system, on our colleagues in neurology, and on neurologic patients,” Mohile said. “The ultimate goal of the program is to inspire neurologists to take action within their own practices and institutions to recognize and challenge racism—and to advance equity for colleagues and patients.”

AAN members participating in the program can complete it at their own pace, earning credits for each module as they go. Learning objectives for the modules include practicing skills to improve patient care, identifying racism and inequities within systems that can affect health care outcomes, and learning how to apply a racial equity framework to clinical practice and health care systems.

In the pilot program last year, 18 US neurology residency programs adopted the program into their own curriculums. Methods of including the program varied, Mohile said, but the feedback was clear: participants said it was an important addition to their education. Details of the pilot will be shared in a panel featuring program directors, faculty, and residents at next month’s Annual Meeting.

Mohile said the change to offering CME is a powerful step toward the program’s mission of better patient care—and toward the AAN’s new strategic plan.

“We believe that anti-racism education is just as important as the clinical knowledge we gain to become better neurologists,” he said. “If we’re offering CME for a session about a neurologic disease, we should also offer CME for a program that helps us understand how to recognize and challenge racism that negatively affects our patients. Both improve our ability as neurologists to take care of patients."

This program is supported in part by an educational grant from Bristol Myers Squibb.