Education Research: Bridging the Undergraduate Neurosciences With Clinical Neurology

Abstract

There is a significant shortage of neurologists in the United States, and this shortage is projected to worsen considerably. With the growth of undergraduate neuroscience majors, there may be opportunities to engage and motivate undergraduate students interested in the neurosciences toward clinical neurology. We surveyed undergraduate neuroscience faculty to better understand their curricular goals, existing interaction with neurologists, and their desire for additional connections with clinical neurologists and clinical neurology researchers. We invited 523 undergraduate neuroscience faculty (members of Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience) to complete an online survey assessing their research areas, courses taught, existing professional networks, and interest in developing connections in clinical neurology/neurology research. We had 140 of the 523 neuroscience faculty (26.8%) complete the survey. Of the 140 respondents, most respondents (93.6%, 131/140) stated their courses included a discussion about neurologic conditions, yet only 4% (6/139) stated addressing the shortage of neurologists in the country. Few reported they were able to partake in professional development opportunities for shadowing neurologists, neurosurgeons, or similar specialists prior to teaching neuroscience courses (19%, 26/140). Understanding neuroscience faculty's perspectives on how to bridge undergraduate neuroscience programs and the field of neurology is critical. This way, we can identify potential gaps and make recommendations for how to improve the neurology pipeline.