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Early Exposure to Neurosurgery: Assessment of Perceptions, Mentorship and Competence on Medical Student Interest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2025

Saman Arfaie
Affiliation:
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Department of Clinical Neurosciences, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Farbod Niazi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Reza Hazrati
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada
Zeel Patel
Affiliation:
Temerty School of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Abrar Ahmed
Affiliation:
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Retage Al-Bader
Affiliation:
Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Crystal Ma
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Franciska Otaner
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sina Zamiri
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ashish Kumar*
Affiliation:
Temerty School of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Division of Neurosurgery, Sunnybrook Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
*
Corresponding author: Ashish Kumar; Email: ashish.kumar@sunnybrook.ca

Abstract

Background:

Neurosurgery is a demanding specialty, and a trainee’s exposure to its tenets is usually achieved through residency. Medical students only access neurosurgical knowledge via brief stints in clerkships/electives and often lack mentorship and early exposure. This study sought to investigate the varying expectations about neurosurgical training held by Canadian medical students, with the goal of determining the impact of early exposure through educational opportunities and mentorship in developing interest and familiarity in the field.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study across Canada was conducted where students were provided with a 35-point questionnaire pertaining to mentorship, educational opportunities and interests regarding neurosurgery through REDcap. Questions were open-ended, closed-ended (single choice) or five-point Likert scale (matrix format). Interest in pursuing neurosurgery was selected as the primary outcome of this study and was dichotomized into high or low interest. Predictors of interest were determined using multivariable logistic regressions.

Results:

A total of 136 students from 14 accredited Canadian medical schools responded to the study. Most (55.9%) had prior exposure, and the most commonly reported deterring factors were work–life balance (94.5%) and family (84.6%). Predictors of interest included participation in relevant case-based discussion (OR = 2.644, 95% CI [1.221–5.847], p = 0.015) and involvement in neurosurgical research encouraged by home institution (OR = 1.619, 95% CI [1.124–2.396], p = 0.012).

Discussion

Future efforts to improve student interest should focus on early exposure to the field such as developing pre-clerkship neurosurgical electives or medical student groups focused on neurosurgery.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

Exposition précoce à la neurochirurgie :évaluation de l’influence de l’image de la discipline, du mentorat et de la compétence sur l’intérêt des étudiants et des étudiantes en médecine pour la spécialité.

Contexte :

La neurochirurgie est une spécialité exigeante, et l’exposition des stagiaires à ses grands principes s’atteint habituellement au niveau de la résidence. En effet,les étudiants et les étudiantes en médecine n’acquièrent préalablement des connaissances en la matière que par de brefs passages dans les services concernés en cours de stages cliniques et de stages au choix, sans compter que bien souvent les possibilités de mentorat et d’exposition précoce à la spécialité sont peu nombreuses. L’étude ici décrite visait donc à analyser les espérances des étudiants en médecine au Canada à l’égard de la formation en neurochirurgie, dans le but de déterminer l’influence de l’exposition précoce à cette branche, par des possibilités de formation, et du mentorat sur l’éveil de leur intérêt pour cette discipline et sur l’acquisition d’une bonne connaissance du domaine.

Méthode :

Il s’agit d’une étude transversale,pancanadienne, réalisée sur la plateforme REDCap, chez des étudiants et des étudiantes qui devaient remplir un formulaire composé de 35 questions portant sur le mentorat, les possibilités de formation et l’intérêt pour la neurochirurgie. Les questions étaient de type ouvert, fermé (un seul choix) et à catégories sur une échelle de Likert à 5 points(sous forme de matrice). Le principal critère d’évaluation était l’intérêt des participants pour la poursuite de leurs études en neurochirurgie, élément qui a ensuite été dichotomisé en «intérêt marqué» et en «intérêt faible».Les facteurs prévisionnels d’intérêt ont été déterminés à l’aide de régressions logistiques à plusieurs variables.

Résultats :

Au total, 136 étudiants et étudiantes provenant de 14 écoles de médecine agréées au Canada ont répondu au questionnaire. La majorité des répondants (55, 9 %) ont indiqué avoir déjà été exposés au domaine, et les facteurs de désintéressement indiqués le plus souvent étaient la conciliation travail-vie personnelle (94, 5 %) et la famille (84,6 %). Quant aux facteurs prévisionnels d’intérêt, ils comprenaient la participation à des groupes de discussion portant sur des cas pertinents (RRA [risque relatif approché] = 2,644; IC à 95 % : [1,221 – 5,847]; p = 0,015) et le fait de jouer un rôle dans des travaux de recherche en neurochirurgie, mesure favorisée par l’établissement d’enseignement (RRA = 1,619; IC à 95 % : [1,124 – 2,396]; p = 0,012).

Discussion :

Les efforts visant à susciter l’intérêt des étudiants et des étudiantes pour la neurochirurgie devraient,à l’avenir, porter sur une exposition précoce au domaine, par exemple par des stages au choix en neurochirurgie avant le passage aux stages cliniques ou par des groupes de discussion formés d’étudiants et d’étudiantes en médecine, axés sur la neurochirurgie.

Information

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation

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Footnotes

*

These authors are contributed equally.

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