Neurophobia among resident physicians in the emergency service

Neurophobia is defined as the fear towards clinical neurology caused by the inability to apply theoretical knowledge to practical clinical situations. This phenomenon is not restricted to medical students and has never been studied before in the Emergency Department. We aimed to study how resident doctors perceive their knowledge in neurology and urgent neurological conditions as well as possible causes for said fears.

Cross-sectional multicentric study using self-administered surveys sent to medical residents within the Aragon Health Service. They were questioned about their fear of neurology and other medical specialties, possible causes, and perception of knowledge in neurological pathologies and subareas in the emergency service.

We obtained 134 responses. 27.6% (37) suffered from neurophobia. Despite neurology being considered the most difficult discipline, it did also arouse the third most interest among the students. The areas where they showed the most confidence were headaches and vascular pathology. The areas where they felt the most insecure were neuromuscular diseases, neuro-ophthalmology, and spinal cord injury. In none of the areas surveyed, the percentage of respondents who felt secure exceeded 50%.

Neurophobia is prevalent among trainee doctors working in the emergency department. Their confidence correlates with the degree of exposure to patients. Neurologist must play an active role in the education of new specialist and promote the collaboration with emergency departments.