Vermont Skull Base Course: History, Challenges, and Future

The Vermont Hands-On Skull Base Course was first organized in 2002 and has grown into a regional skull base workshop with international participation ever since. It is a four-day course designed for familiarizing senior level neurosurgery residents with skull base techniques. As the field of skull base surgery evolves, the course has expanded to include endoscopic skull base approaches and techniques to its curriculum. The instructors are distinguished invited lecturers from the region and beyond. The course has also become a networking opportunity for our young neurosurgeons in the region by including social gatherings and what has become a yearly tradition of ice fishing. It is supported by the New England Neurosurgical Society which funds one resident from each neurosurgery program in the region to attend the course. We also provide internal support for a resident from a developing nation to attend as well. Vermont State law has very stringent rules in regards to industry–physician relationships, but despite these challenges, we have still found creative ways of allowing for industry support. In this abstract, we present the challenges we face in organizing a regional skull base course at a rural academic medical center in a state with extreme regulations regarding industry support. We discuss our ideas in setting up a successful course in a changing world and discuss the role of skull base courses in improving the quality of resident education both here and abroad.