APPNA Academy

Course Description: The purpose of this online course is to enhance the knowledge and expertise of clinicians and related professionals working with patients struggling with various epilepsy disorders.  The course will provide an overview of the basics of EEG reading, common artifacts, and normal variants. Also, will emphasize long-term 24-hour EEG/LTM, especially in the Neuro and Medical ICU. Following that, we will review common epilepsy disorders seen in the primary care and neurology office and their management based on current best practice guidelines. The course will include lectures on epilepsy semiology and classification, child and adolescent epilepsy, epilepsy medications, neuromodulation, and basics of epilepsy surgery. We will use an active learning approach through live interactive sessions and discussions. This program will complement basic training and short courses offered in Pakistan for general practitioners and for general neurologists to bridge the gap in specialty Epilepsy care, especially in underserved areas of Pakistan.  

Objectives:

At the end of the course, the participants would be able to:

1. Explain a basic approach to EEG reading, history taking, and screening of common psychiatric disorders seen in the primary care setting. 

2. Provide a review of approaches towards diagnosing the different epilepsy syndromes. 

3. Review approaches to evaluating and treating common presentations of epilepsy disorders in primary care settings.

Mode of Delivery: Two hours of contact sessions through Zoom twice a month, with the ability to view the content later online for self-paced learning. 

Assessment Method:

Each participant registered in the certificate program will be asked to take multiple-choice questions at the end of the course. A 60% pass rate will be required to receive the certificate.

Course Outline

The course will be delivered primarily on alternate Saturdays of each month for two hours for a total of 19 sessions. There will be two lectures of 40 minutes each, followed by a QA session for 20 minutes after each session.  

Course Director:

Samrina Hanif, MD
Associate Professor 
Epilepsy program director 
Epilepsy fellowship trained Vanderbilt University. 
Marshall University. 

Co-Directors:

Fahd Sultan, MD
Assistant Professor 
Department of Neurology
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Asher Farooqui, MD
Assistant Professor
Epilepsy fellowship trained at Mayo Clinic Rochester.
University of Lexington. 

Hashim Inam, MD
Epilepsy Fellow.
Louisiana State University.

Advisor:

Amir Arain, MD
Professor of Neurology
Epilepsy surgery program director
University of Utah

Course Duration: Mid-September to Mid-December

Time: 10 AM  – 12 PM US EST

7 PM – 9 PM Pakistan Time

Target Audience: 

Primary: Primary care and Neurology physicians and Neurology residents – General Practitioners, Neurologists, and neurology health practitioners currently working with patients suffering from epileptic disorders,

Secondary: Residents, Fellows, and Medical Students

Modules:

Session 1 – September 13th, 2025

• Course Introduction, Pre-Course Survey
• Seizure semiology and classification; EEG patterns in encephalopathy and coma

Session 2 – September 27th, 2025

• Antiseizure medications; mode of action; side effects; interactions
• Choosing the right medications: case-based learning 

Session 3 – October 11th,2025 

• Reflex epilepsy and Autoimmune epilepsy 

Session 4- October 25th, 2025

• Basics of reading EEG’s: artifacts; normal variants; different montages; ACNS guidelines 
• For reading EEG’s 

Session 5 – November 8th, 2025

• Surgical workup for epilepsy. 
• Neuromodulation 

Session 6: November 22nd,2025 

• Women’s health and epilepsy; teratogenicity; OCPs’ bone health
• SUDEP, driving restrictions

Session 7: December 6th, 2025 

• Pediatric Epilepsy Syndromes. 

Session 8: December 20th, 2025 

• Neuroradiology of Epilepsy 
• Final wrap-up session with Q&A