title: A dozen years of American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) International Mini-Fellowship: program evaluation and future directions.
abstract: Sleep medicine remains an underrepresented medical specialty worldwide, with significant geographic disparities with regard to training, number of available sleep specialists, sleep laboratory or clinic infrastructures, and evidence-based clinical practices. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is committed to facilitating the education of sleep medicine professionals to ensure high-quality, evidence-based clinical care and improve access to sleep centers around the world, particularly in developing countries. In 2002, the AASM launched an annual 4-week training program called Mini-Fellowship for International Scholars, designed to support the establishment of sleep medicine in developing countries. The participating fellows were generally chosen from areas that lacked a clinical infrastructure in this specialty and provided with training in AASM Accredited sleep centers. This manuscript presents an overview of the program, summarizes the outcomes, successes, and lessons learned during the first 12 years, and describes a set of programmatic changes for the near-future, as assembled and proposed by the AASM Education Committee and recently approved by the AASM Board of Directors.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Ioachimescu OC; Wickwire EM; Harrington J; Kristo D; Arnedt JT; Ramar K; Won C; Billings ME; DelRosso L; Williams S; Paruthi S; Morgenthaler TI. A dozen years of American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) international mini-fellowship: program evaluation and future directions.
authors.forename: Octavian C
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Ioachimescu
authors.forename: Emerson M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Wickwire
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kristo
authors.forename: J Todd
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Arnedt
authors.forename: Kannan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ramar
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Martha E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Billings
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: DelRosso
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Shalini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paruthi
authors.forename: Timothy I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Morgenthaler
mesh_terms: D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships / Q000266:history / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D005544:Forecasting; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007393:International Educational Exchange / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D015397:Program Evaluation; D056508:Sleep Medicine Specialty / Q000193:education*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States
keywords: Mini-Fellowship for International Scholars; education; sleep medicine