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Curriculum Innovation: Neuro Day: An Innovative Educational Intervention to Enhance Interest in Neurology for Medical
Jessica Frey1, Brandon Chase Neeley1, Gabriella Casinelli1
1Department of Neurology, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown; and.
Introduction And Problem Statement:
Limited or delayed exposure to neurology decreases interest and reduces the likelihood of pursuing neurology as a career for medical trainees. Educational events that strengthen student-to-patient interactions may help dispel misinformation about neurologic treatments and outcomes. Innovative educational strategies such as the use of multimedia to teach the neurologic examination, incorporation of real patients, and integration of clinical neurology mentors were combined to create Neuro Day, an educational event designed to pique neurology interest for first-year medical students.
Objectives:
The aim of this intervention was to provide early neurology exposure to medical students to increase interest in neurology and interest in pursuing neurology for residency, improve perceptions of neurologic disease and treatment, and enhance neuroscience knowledge, as well as to improve physician-educator enjoyment of teaching clinical neurology.
Methods And Curriculum:
In 2023 and 2024, first-year medical students participated in Neuro Day. In part 1, students used an interactive video module to review neurology examination and pathophysiology. In part 2, student groups rotated to stations in a mock patient rounds format. Stations included patient-educators with real neurologic diseases paired with a physician-educator who moderated the discussion of the patient experience, pathophysiology, and examination findings. Students, patient-educators, and physician-educators were surveyed before and after Neuro Day. Statistical analysis included the paired t test with Cohen d, binomial test for difference in proportions, and thematic analysis.
Results And Assessment Data:
After Neuro Day, 108 of 115 (94%) and 98 of 103 (95%) first-year medical students and 10 of 13 physician-educators (77%) completed both presurvey and postsurvey, revealing the following: (1) increased interest in neurology (d = 0.27-0.68), (2) increased interest in pursuing neurology for residency (d = 0.26-0.38), (3) improved perception of patient outcomes (d = 0.45-0.67) and treatment options (d = 0.87-1.09), (4) 35.5% improvement in knowledge quiz scores (95% CI 0.218-0.492, p < 0.001), and (5) improved professional fulfillment in physician-educators (d = 1.20). Thematic analysis revealed that Neuro Day helped to humanize medicine, reinforce course content, and positively change perceptions.
Discussion And Lessons Learned:
Neuro Day is a feasible teaching paradigm to increase interest in neurology, reshape perceptions about neurology, improve confidence in performing a neurologic examination, reinforce neuroscience lecture content, encourage more students to pursue neurology residency, and improve physician-educator professional fulfillment.
