NET FAQs

NET Mission Statement

Teaching is fundamental to the mission of every physician. In fact, the very word “doctor” comes from the Latin word for “teacher”. Furthermore, clinician educators are essential for the continued training of future physicians. The importance of residents as educators has long been acknowledged but rarely formally supported. Neurology residents are expected by ACGME to be involved in the teaching of medical students however these expectations are informal and consequently their fulfillment is variable.

It is widely recognized that education‐specific training is essential in the creation of successful teachers in any domain. Yet despite the critical role of teaching in medicine, very little formal training in education exists for physicians. The neurology educator track seeks to address this disparity through an innovative approach to training clinician educators that will also result in numerous byproducts benefitting the medical school, neurology department and even the community at large.

Increasingly, a role for education‐focused academic physicians is being recognized as an important strategy for ensuring a more robust educational experience for both residents and medical students. Faculty “clinical educator” positions are being created at many institutions across the country, including our own. This paradigm shift has yet to trickle down to the resident level, however.

Our country is already faced with a shortage of neurologists, a problem that is only expected to increase as our population ages. Despite this imbalance and the imperative need for more neurologists, US medical schools are not producing them in adequate numbers. Our own medical school fares no better than the national average of students matching into neurology, a mere 1.6% in the last 10 years, and the trends remain stagnant.

Why are medical students not choosing neurology as a specialty? There are likely many factors, but one cannot ignore the fact that the educational experiences students receive in different specialties during medical school plays a significant role in shaping their career decisions. Quality education of medical students in neurology is therefore critical for creating an adequate workforce of neurologists to meet the needs of our patients. Yet, neurology is one of the most feared and disliked subjects amongst medical students, including our own, who suffer from what Ralph Jozefowicz famously coined as “neurophobia”. So the question becomes, how do we make neurology appealing to medical students? How do we turn neurophobia into neurophilia?

The teaching track provides an innovative approach to recruiting future neurologists and repairing the perception of neurology amongst medical students by enhancing the role of residents in medical education, who are positioned uniquely to bridge the knowledge gap between student and specialist. It also creates avenues for fostering enhanced understanding and appreciation of neurology in the broader healthcare community through interdisciplinary and interprofessional educational efforts.