Preventing “neurophobia”: Remodeling neurology education for 21<sup>st</sup>-century medical students through effective pedagogical strategies for “neurophilia”

Shelley, Bhaskara P; Chacko, Thomas V; Nair, Balakrishnan

doi:10.4103/aian.aian_371_17

Cited by 24 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Main reasons identified in our survey for said fears were the type of patient and their diagnoses (46%) and predominantly theoretical teaching (46%), followed by the complexity of basic neuroscience (40%) and limited exposure to neurological patients (37%). These factors have been identified in other published studies as well [ 2 , 13 , 18 , 19 ]. Of particular significance is the role of neuroanatomy.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

“…En nuestra serie, las principales razones para dichos miedos fueron el tipo del paciente y sus diagnósticos (46%), y la enseñanza eminentemente teórica (46%), por delante de los conocimientos de neurociencias básicas (40%) y la escasa exposición a pacientes neurológicos (37%), factores que se repiten en los distintos estudios publicados [ 2 , 13 , 18 , 19 ]. Merece atención especial la situación de la neuroanatomía.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

See 1 more Smart Citation

Neurofobia entre médicos residentes en los servicios de urgencias

Saldaña Inda,

Cisneros Gimeno,

Lambea Gil

2023

RevNeurol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introducción. La neurofobia se define como el miedo hacia la neurología que surge de la incapacidad para aplicar los conocimientos teóricos a situaciones clínicas prácticas. Este fenómeno parece no limitarse únicamente a estudiantes de medicina, pero no se dispone de estudios previos en el ámbito de urgencias. Este trabajo valora la percepción de conocimientos en las distintas patologías neurológicas urgentes por parte de médicos en formación y posibles motivos de neurofobia. Material y métodos. Se trata de un estudio transversal multicéntrico mediante encuestas autoadministradas a médicos en formación de todo el Servicio Aragonés de Salud. Se interrogó sobre su miedo a la neurología y otras especialidades médicas, posibles causas y percepción de conocimientos en patologías neurológicas en el servicio de urgencias. Resultados. Se obtuvieron 134 respuestas. El 27,6% (37) sufría neurofobia. La neurología fue la tercera disciplina que mayor interés despertó, pero se considera la de mayor dificultad. Las áreas en las que mayor seguridad mostraron fueron las cefaleas y la patología vascular. Donde mayor inseguridad existía fue en la neuromuscular, la neurooftalmología y la lesión medular aguda. En ninguna de las áreas hubo un porcentaje mayor del 50% que se sintiera seguro o muy seguro. Conclusiones. La neurofobia está presente entre los médicos en formación que desempeñan su labor en los servicios de urgencias. Su distribución depende del grado de exposición a los pacientes. Los neurólogos debemos desempeñar un papel activo en la formación de nuevos especialistas y promover la colaboración con los servicios de urgencias.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Discussionunclassified

Neurofobia entre médicos residentes en los servicios de urgencias

Saldaña Inda,

Cisneros Gimeno,

Lambea Gil

2023

RevNeurol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It would be recommendable to consider developing a new approach in which the teaching of neurology to students begins with clinical signs and phenomenology, with explanations and reasons, rather than with basic disciplines lacking clinical focus ( Menken, 2002 ; Gupta et al , 2013 ). If we could achieve a suitable vertical integration turning all these neuroscience disciplines into a single one, the problem would be mitigated ( Shelley et al , 2018 ).…”

Section: Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In each case it is necessary to identify where the lesion is (neurolocalisation), its nature (neuropathology) and why it is there (aetiology), all of which is highly complex for students. It should be kept in mind that clinical experience and competence in neurology are analogous to the observation, investigation and inductive and abductive reasoning skills used to solve a crime mystery, as described in the fictional Sherlock Holmes stories ( Shelley et al, 2018 ). We would considerably reduce neurophobia if we could make students realise that all one needs in order to get a grasp of neurology is to think logically ( Lim & Seet, 2008 ).…”

Section: Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Neurophobia: why, how much, consequences and solutions

Hernando‐Requejo¹

2020

MedEdPublish

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The term neurophobia was defined by Jozefowicz as "a fear of the neural sciences and clinical neurology that is due to the students' inability to apply their knowledge of basic sciences to clinical situations, leading to a paralysis of thought or action". In this paper we review what we see as the key aspects of neurophobia. What gives rise to it? Notable among multiple causes are how basic and clinical neurosciences are taught, the peculiarities of neurological patient history, examination and differential diagnosis in the field, and how neurology and neurologists are seen from outside the field. We will also review the extent of the issue, for in view of its prevalence, many students will reject a specialty in increasing demand (as the incidence of neurological disorders will not cease to grow), along with its consequences: more patient referrals to neurology (owing to neurophobia or defensive medicine), or overprescription of ancillary tests for diagnosis. Finally we will look at the solutions proposed, especially those aiming to bring about changes in the form and content of teaching, how the teaching of neurological examination and of new technologies is to be approached, and the use of those technologies as teaching aids. DefinitionThe term neurophobia was first used by Poser in 1959(Poser, 1959, though we owe its durable definition to Jozefowicz: "a fear of the neural sciences and clinical neurology that is due to the students' inability to apply their knowledge of basic sciences to clinical situations, leading to a paralysis of thought or action" (Jozefowicz, 1994). Neuroscience truly does engender anxiety in medical students, and this continues when on starting their clinical activity they are faced with neurological patients; if doctors are not trained in neurology, neurological examination and its interpretation will remain a real mystery.Hernando-Requejo V MedEdPublish https://doi. CausesIn this section we will consider what give rise to neurophobia. Notable among its multiple causes are how basic and clinical neurosciences are taught, the peculiarities of neurological patient history, examination and differential diagnosis in the specialty, and how neurology and neurologists are perceived from outside the field. Basic neuroscienceA common denominator in studies is to regard the separation of clinical and basic disciplines as the chief cause of neurophobia, especially if the latter are separated into neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neuropathology and neuropharmacology (Fantaneanu et al., 2014;Pakpoor et al., 2014), for these subjects are normally taught by different specialists not linked to each other or to clinical practice. Moreover a lack of knowledge of basic neuroscience is one of the main reasons why medical students would reject a neurology residency (Gupta et al., 2013). In his 1994 paper, Jozefowicz asserts that for students, separating the (basic) "science" and the (clinical) "art" makes the former irrelevant and the latter mystical (Jozefowicz, 1994).A 2018 study by Tarolli et al. with a sa...

show abstract