I recently had the pleasure to attend the trauma course (October 18-19th) at the Musculoskeletal Learning Center in Denver, covering essentially all trauma from the toes to the tibia. This year’s course was chaired by Jordan Grossman, DPM, who, I must say, did an outstanding job moderating and organizing this course. The lecturers included some of the top podiatric traumatologists in the country, including George Gumann, DPM, Mark Hardy, DPM, Christopher Hyer, DPM, Alan Ng, DPM, Shannon Rush, DPM, and Jerome Steck, DPM.

For those of you who might not have attended an ACFAS surgical skills course, I would highly recommend them. Whether you’re a resident or long-time practitioner, these courses have something for everyone.  Covering a mix of the didactic and practical with lectures, video demonstrations, cadaver dissections, and a “fireside chat” with case reviews, this combination of educational methods benefits all types of learners, whether visual, auditory, or tactile.  The opportunity to talk shop with other practitioners is also very beneficial.

I have been to past workshops and seminars by ACFAS, including the basic and advanced AO courses and the arthroscopy course.  The trauma course continues in this line of excellent educational opportunities.  I found it refreshing that, although this course was sponsored primarily by Synthes (and the instruments we used were Synthes), there were no booths or salesmen pitching their products.  The instructors had no reservations on criticizing the instruments we were using and suggesting alternative methods.  The emphasis was clearly on discussing trauma concepts and applications, not plying me with bags full of company junk to lug home.

So what’s the down side?  I’m never completely satisfied with anything; a critical eye is always important for growth.  My criticisms of this course, though, are small.  For 42 attendees, there were 42 cadaver limbs—which is great.  We were short, though, on power equipment, decreasing the lab’s productivity, and some of us eventually doubled up on limbs.  The fractures were, by necessity, created by the instructors, which may not be the most accurate method, but how else could they do it?  I think the fractures were adequate enough to practice the skills.  Short of using real humans for these labs, you can’t get closer to the real thing. 

So, bravo to Dr Grossman and colleagues on a masterfully executed, world-class learning experience.  My money was well spent.  I’d like to recommend the addition of two other courses in the future: an external fixation course and a flap and skin graft course.  These adjunctive procedures are becoming increasingly mainstream.  Additionally one might argue the legal liability and complications may be higher, and it’s always a good idea to have professional society paperwork to back up our training in the case of litigation.

In two days, I not only received 16 CME credits, but furthered my surgical knowledge and skills.  My thanks to Dr Grossman and instructors for their hard work and a truly superior learning experience.  Clearly, this is the golden age for podiatric education.