Abstract Details

The percentage of medical students entering neurology has remained inadequate, with a projected increased demand in the coming years. Few students report a strong interest in neurological fields, which is likely linked to the concept of “neurophobia”. Begging the question, what factors may influence a student's likelihood of entering neurology? 

To investigate factors influencing neurology match trends at Penn State College of Medicine (PSCOM). 

We surveyed a 175 preclinical medical students to assess their perceived exposure, perception and comfort with neurology.  A structured program was developed to increase early exposure to clinical neurology, research in neurology, and mentorship with neurology faculty.  Match trends data was obtained and evaluated from PSCOM and national neurology reports created by the National Resident Matching Program. 

We found that 42.1% of 19 students considered neurology as a specialty, and felt they received adequate neuroscience education. Most students reported adequate comfort performing the neurologic exam. Lectures followed by neurology day (bedside teaching case sessions), and Problem-Based Learning case sessions were identified as the most educational methods. Interestingly, the majority of students felt that the preclinical years integrated clinical neurology, yet also reported a less than satisfactory perceived degree of clinical exposure. Among 78 students, 38.5% answered “none”, 52.6% answered “less than satisfactory”, 6.4% answered “satisfactory”, and 2.6%  answered “more than satisfactory”. When asked if they wished for additional opportunities for exposure to neurology 61.5%  said “yes”, 24.4% said “unsure”, and 14.1% said “no”. 

In this study, we compared PSCOM’s neurology match to national trends, which showed a statistically significant increase in neurology matches at PSCOM, and identified potential reasons for this difference. Therefore, the described interventions should be considered for implementation in medical schools to boost exposure and potentially increase interest in the field of neurology.