AO Spine Competency-Based Curriculum Courses

AO Spine’s gold standard education programs

The AO Spine competency-based curriculum courses provide cutting-edge learning experiences and latest knowledge to enhance and improve spine surgery skills worldwide.

The courses are highly interactive, focusing on surgeons’ hands-on skills and fostering engagement between participants and international expert faculty.

AO Spine courses address patient problems to improve patient care and outcomes. Collaborative expert input is the foundation that results in exceptional educational experiences. The robust global framework ensures consistent delivery of core concepts around the world and adhering to the highest quality standards. New best practices from research are continuously integrated into the dynamic programs.

What is the AO Spine curriculum?

The AO Spine curriculum is based on entrustable professional activities, EPA’s. An EPA is an essential activity that can be entrusted only to those who have acquired the requisite ability to work independently in a given healthcare context to achieve a desired outcome.

Each EPA is described by key competencies as they relate to the pathology domains of spinal disorders.

All AO Spine’s curriculum-based courses are developed in a backward-planning process, ensuring that our education is focused on addressing patient problems and improving patient care.

A taskforce of surgeon experts, appointed by the Education Commission and supported by the AO Education Institute, continuously integrates new best practices from research into the dynamic programs to ensure a continuous improvement.

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The AO Spine Principles

The four AO Spine Principles that create the foundation for proper spinal patient management lie at the core of the design and delivery of the curriculum.