Neuroscience education of undergraduate medical students. Part I: role of neurosurgeons as educators

Object. Economic, demographic, and political pressures have mandated that m edical schools increase the number of primary care physicians. The goal of this study was to determine the nature of the average medical student's exp osure to neurosurgical issues. Methods. Surveys were sent to every neurosurgical program director in the: United States and to the dean of every medical school in North America, que rying the extent of neurosurgical involvement in medical student education. Specifically, the respondents were asked how medical students were educate d about the management of low-back pain and radiculopathy, carotid artery d isease, head and spine trauma, and headache. Survey results were obtained from 65 (67%) of 97 neurosurgery program direc tors and from 57 (40%) of 143 medical school deans. Only one program in Nor th America reported having a required neurosurgical rotation for all medica l students, and just over 50% (29 of 57 deans and 34 of 65 program director s) reported that neurosurgery was an option in a required neuroscience or s urgical subspecialty course. Neurosurgeons were not listed among the top th ree sources fur medical student education in the topics of low-back pain an d radiculopathy or carotid artery disease. Neurosurgeons were the most freq uently cited source of education regarding head and spinal injuries, despit e the fact that the majority of medical schools do not have any required me dical student exposure to neurosurgery. Conclusions. With rare exceptions, neurosurgeons are not significantly invo lved in the education of medical students concerning the management of comm on neurosurgical issues. As a result, most emerging primary care physicians an taught about these issues by other specialists or not at all. The impli cations of this situation are discussed.