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Undergraduate and postgraduate medical education for cerebrovascular disease
1Division of Neurology, Stroke Acute Care Unit, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Insights
Medical students receive some stroke education, but nearly 40% of programs lack required training. Most internal medicine programs offer limited cerebrovascular disease education for house officers.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Neurology
- Cerebrovascular Disease
Background:
- Physician perception suggests inadequate cerebrovascular disease training for medical students and house officers.
- Limited data exists on the extent of medical education in cerebrovascular disease diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify and characterize undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in cerebrovascular disease.
- To assess the educational content provided to medical students and house officers.
Main Methods:
- Prospective questionnaire study distributed to 40 academic medical centers in the US and Canada.
- Data collection focused on stroke education program availability, student/resident participation, and teaching duration.
Main Results:
- 61% of programs offered dedicated stroke teaching during clinical rotations (average 13.1 hours).
- Medical students received ~5 hours of preclinical stroke instruction.
- Only 35% of programs provided stroke training for internal medicine house officers; 81% offered conferences or computer-based instruction.
Conclusions:
- Medical students receive moderate stroke education during clinical rotations at some institutions.
- Nearly 40% of programs lack required stroke education for medical students.
- Most internal medicine programs surveyed showed limited specific stroke education for house officers, suggesting a need for increased educational efforts.
Background And Purpose:
There is a perception among some physicians that medical students and house officers receive little or no training in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cerebrovascular disease. However, there is a paucity of data addressing the issue of medical education in this area. This study was performed to determine the quantity and type of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education on cerebrovascular disease that is presented to medical students and house officers.
Methods:
This was a prospective questionnaire study sent to 40 mainly academic medical centers in the United States and Canada. Data were collected on the percentage of programs offering stroke education, percentage of medical students and house officers taking such courses, and the duration of teaching programs.
Results:
Sixty-one percent of the programs had dedicated stroke teaching efforts during clinical rotations, averaging a total of 13.1 hours of didactic and clinical teaching. Medical students received approximately 5 hours of preclinical stroke instruction. Only 35% of the programs offered stroke training for house officers in their internal medicine program. Most programs (81%) offered stroke conferences and computer-based instruction.
Conclusions:
At some institutions, medical students received a modest amount of stroke education during their clinical rotations. However, almost 40% of programs did not have required stroke education programs for medical students. Most internal medicine programs that we surveyed did not have specific stroke education efforts for house officers. Increased educational efforts in this area may be indicated.