1536 Neuroanatomy, Not Just for Budding Neurosurgeons. Motivations for Participating in An Extra-Curricular Neuroanatomy Course for Undergraduates

Introduction

Extra-curricular activities form an important part of undergraduate education as they give students the opportunity to explore subjects of interest. There is significant demand within the undergraduate population for further teaching in neuro-related specialities. The aim of this online twelve-week course was to provide neuroanatomy teaching in greater breadth and detail than possible in the undergraduate curriculum. We sought to gauge motivations for involvement.

Method

Delegates (n = 166) from six UK universities were asked to complete a short questionnaire examining motivations and future career plans prior to the course beginning, only those who consented were involved further in the analysis (n = 98).

Results

Motivations for involvement were predominantly to develop a greater understanding of neuroanatomy (63.3%), to support career plans (13.3%) or to support preparation for an examination or competition (8.2%). The majority (56.1%) had no particular speciality in mind. For those who did, a range of specialities including neurosurgery (24.5%), neurology (8.2%) was given.

Conclusions

There is clear interest within the undergraduate population for more specialised extra-curricular activities in addition to conventional experiences such as conferences. Online courses run over multiple weeks provide further scope for depth and exploration of subjects in further detail. In this course, the majority of delegates did not have a particular speciality in mind, demonstrating neuroanatomy to be a popular subject regardless of potential career plans. For students looking to pursue a career in neuro-related specialities, courses are perceived as important opportunities to support future career development.

1520 Decoding Neurophobia – Insights from an Undergraduate Neuroanatomy Course

Introduction

Neurophobia is a common multifaceted issue amongst students studying medical sciences at an undergraduate level associated with difficulty in understanding neuroscience topics and ongoing negative perceptions of clinical neurosciences. We sought to examine whether neurophobia was present even amongst students who participated in an extracurricular neuroanatomy teaching course.

Method

Prior to the beginning of a twelve-week online neuroanatomy course, delegates were asked to complete a short questionnaire examining perceptions of neurophobia and specialities of interest. This was repeated after the course. This course was open to all undergraduate students in the UK and covered material beyond the remits of the undergraduate curriculum.

Results

From the 166 signups, 98 students completed the pre-course questionnaire. As expected, the majority of students (n = 83) taking part did not identify as neurophobic, describing the subject area as ‘interesting’, ‘enjoyable’ and ‘challenging’. Students who identified as neurophobic described neuroanatomy as ‘complex’ or ‘overwhelming’. Some students (n = 12) continued to describe themselves as neurophobic at the end of the course, despite this 7 of those students continue to consider a future career in a neuro-related speciality.

Conclusions

The fact that students with Neurophobia attended this extra-curricular course speaks volumes of how perception and self-motivation of a student are important for learning a subject. All students who participated in this course recognised the complexity and interesting nature of neuroanatomy. This experience highlights the challenge of medical educators to provide teaching experiences that are stimulating and enjoyable, but not overwhelming.