Flexible Independent Study Neuroscience Elective for Fourth‐year Medical Students

Abstract

The senior (MS4) year curriculum at many US medical schools includes a variety of clinical, research, and supervised teaching electives, allowing flexibility for residency interviews, away rotations, and licensing examinations. For over 20 years, we have offered an MS4 independent study elective entitled Advanced Neuroanatomy, which within the last decade has been broadened to include any topics related to neuroscience or psychiatry. Students are required to write a 10- to 15-page research paper, and encouraged to explore topics relevant to their residency plans and career interests. Analysis of 201 papers submitted between 2010 and 2020 revealed that 99 could be categorized as Neurology, and 84 as Psychiatry. Other categories (which may overlap with Neurology and Psychiatry) included Pediatrics/Neonatology (21/201), Public Health/Healthcare Disparities (11/201), Anesthesiology/Pain Management (18/201), and Alternative and Complementary Medicine (10/201). Within the Neurology category, the most popular topics were concussions and traumatic brain injury (14/99), child neurology (13/99), and dementia/neurodegenerative disorders (13/99). Other frequent Neurology topics included migraines and other headaches (8/99), stroke (7/99), and nervous system tumors (9/99). Within the Psychiatry category, the most popular topics were substance use disorders (12/84), depression (16/84), and child psychiatry (11/84). Other frequent Psychiatry topics included schizophrenia and psychosis (7/84), eating disorders (4/84), and bipolar disorder (4/84). In addition to providing a flexible independent study option, this elective encourages students to delve into and critically examine primary medical literature on a topic of interest, and to explore controversies or novel paradigms in diagnosis, treatment, and management of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, the elective accommodates an increasing focus on social justice issues such as disability rights and healthcare disparities.