Assessment of Attitudes and Perceptions toward Neurology and Neurosurgery Specialties among Zambian Medical Students

Abstract

Abstract Background: Prevalence and incidence of organic and inorganic brain diseases have skyrocketed over the past decades, while on the other hand, the number of trained neurologists and neurosurgeons has not kept pace. Building a larger, robust neurological/neurosurgical workforce therefore becomes an apparent solution. However, the fear of neurosciences and clinical neurology, represents an important perceptual impediment that limits consideration of a career in these fields. Objective: To assess attitudes and perceptions of Zambian medical students towards a career specialty in neurosurgery and neurology.Methodology: This was a cross sectional survey of medical students from six (6) Zambian medical universities. A 20-item online survey containing multiple choice, Likert-scale, and free-response questions was adapted from prior literature and administered through social media. Preliminary information that explains the objectives of the study and asks for the participants’ consent was sent with questionnaire. Results: A total of 1236 complete responses were obtained from medical students across Zambia. Most students (70.9%) considered neurology and neurosurgery as difficult subjects because of very long training time and were majorly dissuaded from pursuing a career in these fields because of inability to maintain work-life balance. Neurosurgery (36.6%) and neurology (28.1%) were ranked 7th and 8th respectively on a list of 10 medical and surgical specialties. Respondents were least likely to pursue a career in rheumatology (14.6%) and geriatrics (11.7%). Eighty one percent and 89% of participants who considered neurosurgery and neurology as future career respectively agreed that insufficient knowledge of the students about neurology/neurosurgery and difficulty of neurological disorders, contribute to consideration of neurology and neurosurgery as difficult specialties (p<0.01). Conclusion: Numerous factors are associated with medical students’ attitudes. Most of these significantly stem from inadequate or absent early career exposure to these career specialties. Therefore, incorporation of earlier, rigorous, and focused neurology/neurosurgery education program in medical pedagogy would be a cornerstone effort towards an improved understanding and positive perception of neurology and neurosurgery among medical students.