The ESCOME Curriculum Overview
The ESCOME program is comprised of three interdependent components. The first component is the web-based curriculum that establishes a theoretical competency in the broad aspects of spine care including cervical, thoracic and lumbar pathologies. Surgeons chosen to participate in the program will have access to the core curriculum containing both text and multi-media presentations.
The second component consists of on-site training in the United States, at Emory University and then at a mentor's hospital. At Emory University in Atlanta, GA , the education of actual surgical techniques is offered at two levels: one for advanced surgeons and the other for surgeons requiring a more basic course. Both tracks involve a three-week stay at the University where the visiting surgeons will be partnered, in pairs, with U.S. surgeon mentors. Each team of two visiting surgeons and one U.S. mentor will work in detailed and highly supported surgical labs using cadavers, live animals and surgical simulators. This three-week course is intended to focus on specific technical skills and abilities that need to be mastered to provide good patient care. When the training at Emory University is complete, each pair of visiting surgeons and their mentor will travel to the mentor's home facility for a week of additional training, the focus of which will be on finer points of care in the outpatient and office setting, detailed instructions regarding patient selection, interpretation of clinical presentations and how best to manage patients' post-surgery care.
The third component of the training begins when the surgeons return home. They will receive ongoing mentor coverage for the next two years. The mentors will be available by computer contact once a week to discuss any cases or problems that arise. Additionally, the mentors will travel to the partner surgeon’s facility four times during the two year period. Each visit will include seeing patients and performing surgery together, as the chosen surgeons mature in their own practice. These critical site visits by the mentor will allow detailed and on-going evaluation of the effectiveness of the training.
At the end of this two-year mentoring component, the surgeons successfully completing their training will receive a diploma from Emory University School of Medicine certifying completion of the program.
The following links provide an outline of the three structured curricula.
On-line Curriculum
Basic Curriculum
Advanced Curriculum