Early exposure to neurosurgery: promoting early specialty interest through a single-day resident-driven neurosurgical course for preclinical students.

Background And Objectives: Minimal exposure to neurosurgery in standard medical school curricula alongside a growing need for neurosurgical care necessitate early exposure programs that promote medical student retention in neurosurgery. Here, we evaluate preclinical students' perceptions on a one-day, resident-designed introductory neurosurgical course.

Methods: Course curriculum involved hands-on and discussion-based elements split into three stations: (1) suturing/general information; (2) introduction to drilling/LPs/EVDs; and (3) case/clinical skills review. Anonymous online post-course surveys were administered immediately after the course and one year after the course following completion of clerkships.

Results: Ten medical students participated in the course, 70 % of which indicated desire to pursue neurosurgery at course onset. Nine students responded to an immediate post-survey, which revealed that, in students with a desire to pursue neurosurgery (n = 6) versus those undifferentiated in specialty interest (n = 3): the program was rated as having high versus moderate impacts on readiness and enthusiasm for surgical clerkships (readiness: avg 4 vs 3.67; enthusiasm: avg 4.3 vs 3.67), on fostering a sense of belonging within neurosurgery (avg 4.67 vs 3.33), and on clarifying specialty interests (avg 4.3 vs 3.3). At 1-year, 75 % of participants (n = 6), including 100 % of students (n = 4) from minority backgrounds, noted a persistent desire to pursue neurosurgery. In participants with a continued interest in neurosurgery versus those planning to pursue different fields, the course was rated as having high versus moderate impacts on preparedness for surgery clerkship experiences (average 4.17 vs 3.5) and moderate impact on participant desire to pursue neurosurgery (3.67 vs 3).

Conclusions: Significant enthusiasm and sense of belonging fostered by the course, particularly amongst students with prior interests in neurosurgery, support that early specialty-specific exposure may promote retention of students in neurosurgery. High rates of persistent engagement in neurosurgery amongst minority students at 1-year post-course suggest that such courses may help to build a more representative neurosurgical workforce.