Neurological and neuroscience education: mitigating neurophobia to mentor health care providers (P1.9-081)

Objective: To review current guidelines regarding neurological education and identify and discuss key factors ‘behind neurophobia’ as well as key educational strategies ‘beyond neurophobia Background: Neurological disorders are among the most frequent causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Moreover, the current shortfall of neurologists is expected to worsen over the coming decade. As a consequence, many patients with neurological disorders will be treated by physicians and primary care providers without formal neurological training. Furthermore, a pervasive and well-described fear of neurology, termed ‘neurophobia’, has been identified in medical student cohorts, residents and among general practitioners Design/Methods: Members of the American Academy of Neurology A.B. Baker Section on Neurological Education have reviewed current guidelines regarding neurological and neuroscience education, contextualised the genesis and the negative consequences of neurophobia, and provided strategies to mitigate it for purposes of mentoring future generations of health care providers Results: Key factors ‘behind neurophobia’ as well as key educational strategies ‘beyond neurophobia’ have been identified and discussed Conclusions: Neurophobia, along with the misperception that neurological diseases are devastating and untreatable, leads to alternate specialty choice and suboptimal patient outcomes in primary care practices. These biases run counter to the exponential growth in the knowledge of neurological disorders and their treatments. Incorporating best practices of adult, experiential learning into the best practices of dedicated observation characteristic of traditional medical school education and residency apprenticeships may mitigate this issue. These interventions include new educational formats that can be employed to reach a broader, less-expert audience to ensure comfort and competence with the initial diagnosis and management of neurological disorders. This may help ensure that health care providers at all levels of training are provided with a robust clinical neuroscience experience Disclosure: Dr. Sandrone has nothing to disclose. Dr. Berthaud has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chuquilin Arista has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cios has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ghosh has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Lundbeck LLC, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Tufts Medical Center and Partners Healthcare/Spaulding Rehabilitation. Dr. Gottlieb-Smith has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kushlaf has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Alexion, PTC therapeutics, Genzyme, and Strongbridge Biopharma. Dr. Mantri has nothing to disclose. Dr. Masangkay has nothing to disclose. Dr. Menkes has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Neurotron Inc. Dr. Nevel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sarva has received research support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Insightec, Biogen, Intec Pharmaceuticals and Cornell. Dr. Schneider has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Hatch Baby. Dr. Schneider holds stock and/or stock options in Knit Health, Inc..