10-year anniversary of the European Somnologist examination - A historic overview and critical appraisal.

The European Somnologist certification programme was developed by the European Sleep Research Society to improve patient care in sleep medicine by providing an independent evaluation of theoretical and practical knowledge. The examination of eligible experts plays a key role in this procedure. A process was started more than 15 years ago to create the European sleep medicine curriculum, eligibility criteria for certification, and sleep centre accreditation criteria. The process was characterised by interdisciplinary collaboration, consensus, and achieving new solutions. During the past 10 years, experience has been gained by the examination and certification of more than 1000 sleep medicine experts from more than 50 countries. The process has continuously been improved. However, as the programme was designed and administered mainly by medical experts in the field, systematic influence from teaching and pedagogic experts was partially underrepresented. The current critical appraisal pinpoints several missing links in the process - mainly as a missing constructive alignment between learning objectives, learning and teaching activities, and the final assessment. A series of suggestions has been made to further improve the ESRS certification programme.

Neurophysiological study of the radial nerve variant in the innervation of the dorsomedial surface of the hand.

INTRODUCTION: Sensory innervation of the dorsomedial surface of the hand usually depends on the dorsal ulnar nerve (DUN). Innervation in this area by the superficial radial nerve (SRN) has been described as a normal variant. METHODS: We studied 358 patients using nerve conduction of the DUN and SRN with dorsomedial recording. Each hand was classified into usual innervation (only DUN response), mixed variant (response of both nerves), or complete variant (only SRN response). RESULTS: Mixed innervation was found in 14.2% of hands and complete innervation was found in 6.8% of hands, mostly unilaterally. No statistically significant differences were observed in age, sex, or clinical suspicion between usual and variant innervation. The potential amplitude after SRN stimulation was greater in the complete variant. DISCUSSION: It is important to know the characteristics of this variant in order to avoid diagnostic errors and to prevent iatrogenic lesions in surgery performed on the dorsum of the wrist. Muscle Nerve 58: 732-735, 2018.