An APP Toolbelt to Navigating Spine Care: Knowing When to Wait, Medicate or Operate! (Hands-On)

Course Director(s)

• 

  Gina Duel, MSPAS, PA-C
• 

  Kenneth Crandall, MD

  University of Maryland School of Medicine
• LM

  Lara Massie, MD

  Drexel College of Medicine
• 

  Corey Walker, MD

  CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER

Supported by: Medtronic, SI-Bone, Stryker

This comprehensive course equips Advanced Practice Providers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to excel as leaders in spine care. Through expert-led lectures, interactive panels, and hands-on training, participants will explore advanced imaging interpretation, differentiate pathology mimics, optimize patients for fusion, assess risks of pain procedures, and navigate surgical decision-making from arthrodesis versus arthroplasty to surgical corridor selection. Practical pearls in wound closure, navigation setup, and physical exam techniques are reinforced in immersive skills stations, ensuring attendees leave with immediately applicable strategies to enhance patient outcomes and elevate their clinical practice. This course will close with a Collaboration Cocktails Session, where course attendees will have the opportunity to exchange insights, build professional relationships, and get their questions answered in an informal environment.

Separate registration is required.

Presentations:

• 1:30 PM - 1:42 PM MST

  Intro – Much More Than An Assist: The APP’s Rise to Influence & Leadership
  

  Speaker: Gina Duel, MSPAS, PA-C – Hoag Specialty Clinic/ HOAG Hospital
• 1:43 PM - 1:55 PM MST

  See It. Know It. Treat It: A Practical Radiologic Review of Spine Pathology
  

  Speaker: Jessica Lyons, PA-C – Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
• 1:56 PM - 2:08 PM MST

  Spine Pain Impostors: Piriformis Syndrome, GTPS, Peroneal Neuropathy… Don’t be fooled!
  

  Speaker: Charles De Mesa, DO – The BIOS Institute
• 2:09 PM - 2:21 PM MST

  Surgical Success Begins Before the Incision: Optimizing for Spinal Fusion
  

  Speaker: Andrea Wincowski, PA-C – University at Buffalo Neurosurgery
• 2:22 PM - 2:34 PM MST

  Are Pain Procedures Truly Benign: Potential Perils of Injections and Ablations
  

  Speaker: Karim Fahmy, DO, MS – Hoag Hospital
• 2:35 PM - 2:43 PM MST

  Panel Q&A
  

  Speaker: Gina Duel, MSPAS, PA-C – Hoag Specialty Clinic/ HOAG Hospital

  Speaker: Charles De Mesa, DO – The BIOS Institute

  Speaker: Andrea Wincowski, PA-C – University at Buffalo Neurosurgery

  Speaker: Karim Fahmy, DO, MS – Hoag Hospital

  Speaker: Jessica Lyons, PA-C – Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
• 2:44 PM - 2:54 PM MST

  Break
• 2:55 PM - 3:07 PM MST

  The Incidental Cord Compression Conundrum: Do We Ever Operate on the MRI?
  

  Speaker: Avital Gravanis, PA-C – Cedars Sinai Medical Center
• 3:08 PM - 3:20 PM MST

  Fusion vs. Freedom: The Motion Preservation Debate – Arthrodesis vs Arthroplasty
  

  Speaker: Adam S. Kanter, MD, MBA, FAANS – Hoag Neurosciences Institute
• 3:21 PM - 3:33 PM MST

  Choosing the Adjacent Segment Disease Corridor: PLIF / TLIF / OLIF / LLIF / ALIF -- When & Why it Matters
  

  Speaker: Corey T. Walker, MD – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• 3:34 PM - 3:46 PM MST

  The Art of a Spine Closure: A Plastic Surgeon’s Tips & Pearls to the Spine Wound
  

  Speaker: Andrew Blount, MD – Dignity Health Medical Group Phoenix
• 3:47 PM - 3:59 PM MST

  Beyond the Norm: When Post-Op Pain Isn't Just Healing
  

  Speaker: Allyson McLean, MSN, APN, AGACNP-BC
• 4:00 PM - 4:08 PM MST

  Panel Q&A
  

  Speaker: Adam S. Kanter, MD, MBA, FAANS – Hoag Neurosciences Institute

  Speaker: Avital Gravanis, PA-C – Cedars Sinai Medical Center

  Speaker: Allyson McLean, MSN, APN, AGACNP-BC

  Speaker: Corey T. Walker, MD – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

  Speaker: Andrew Blount, MD – Dignity Health Medical Group Phoenix
• 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM MST

  Station 1: Skills Session: Feel It to Find It: Physical Exam Techniques to Differentiate Radicular Mimics
  

  Speaker: Charles De Mesa, DO – The BIOS Institute

  Speaker: Karim Fahmy, DO, MS – Hoag Hospital
• 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM MST

  Station 2: The Perfect Stitch: Suture Selection and Spine Wound Closure Techniques
  

  Speaker: Gina Duel, MSPAS, PA-C – Hoag Specialty Clinic/ HOAG Hospital

  Speaker: Andrew Blount, MD – Dignity Health Medical Group Phoenix
• 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM MST

  Station 3: Navigation Systems: Workflow & Setup
  

  Speaker: Avital Gravanis, PA-C – Cedars Sinai Medical Center

  Speaker: Lara Massie, MD – Drexel College of Medicine, Allegheny Health Network
• 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM MST

  Station 4: QR Code Station: Join the Team! DSPN Membership Information