PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Abulaban, Ahmad A.
AU  - Obeid, Tahir H.
AU  - Algahtani, Hussein A.
AU  - Kojan, Suleiman M.
AU  - Al-Khathaami, Ali M.
AU  - Abulaban, Abdulrhman A.
AU  - Bokhari, Maryam F.
AU  - Merdad, Anas A.
AU  - Radi, Suhaib A.
TI  - Neurophobia among medical students
DP  - 2015 Jan 01
TA  - Neurosciences Journal
PG  - 37--40
VI  - 20
IP  - 1
4099  - http://nsj.org.sa/content/20/1/37.short
4100  - http://nsj.org.sa/content/20/1/37.full
SO  - Neurosciences (Riyadh)2015 Jan 01; 20
AB  - Objective: To assess the attitude of medical students and junior physicians toward neurology.Methods: A self-administered, previously validated, questionnaire was distributed among 422 students and junior physicians at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from September to December 2012. In this cross-sectional study, the questionnaire included demographic data and 12 statements to examine attitudes toward neurology using a Likert scale.Results: The response rate among participants was 70.3%. The mean age was 22.35 (SD+/-1.28) years. Males comprised 46.2%. While 31.3% of students had not decided regarding their future career, 11.8% selected neurology as their first possible choice. Whereas 29.6% of students were not satisfied with their neurology teaching experience, 84.4% found neurology difficult, and 42.7% of the whole group thought that their neuroscience knowledge was insufficient. Advanced clinical year students (namely, interns) were less likely to consider neurology as a career choice (p=0.001).Conclusion: Most of the students had an unfavorable attitude toward neurology on the Likert scale. New strategies are needed to change students’ attitude toward this demanding specialty.