Investigation of Neurophobia amongst North American Veterinary Students and Development of a Veterinary Neurophobia Scoring Tool (VetNeuroQ)

Abstract

“Neurophobia” is a phenomenon in human medical education where students develop negative attitudes towards neurology, impeding student learning and future clinical practice. While suspected to exist in veterinary medical education, it remains unstudied. The main objectives of this study were to examine North American veterinary student attitudes towards neurology and neurology education and explore elements that might contribute to neurophobia. Additional objectives were to evaluate veterinary educators’ perceptions of student neurophobia and to develop and validate a scoring tool (VetNeuroQ) to quantify veterinary neurophobia. Veterinary students and faculty at North American veterinary schools were surveyed. A scoring tool was developed from a subset of questions and validated using confirmatory factor analysis. Six hundred six anonymous responses were collected from students at all stages of veterinary education. Neurology training was reported as insufficient by 35.9% and most respondents perceived neurology to not be easy to learn. Neuroanatomy/physiology and neurolocalization were considered difficult concepts. Students rated low confidence in neurology (vs. other topics), and low interest in the Neurology/Neurosurgery specialty. 61.7% of educators reported neurophobia amongst their students. The proposed VetNeuroQ scale showed high reliability (Cronbach's alpha >0.7) and validity ( p < .05; CFI >0.9, RMSEA <0.08). VetNeuroQ scores were low but improved over the course of veterinary education. These findings demonstrate low self-efficacy, interest, and confidence, along with perceptions of difficulty, amongst veterinary students, consistent with neurophobia. Contributing elements are discussed. The VetNeuroQ scale allows quantification of veterinary student neurophobia and may be useful for screening students and assessing the impact of educational interventions.