Twelve tips for teaching neuroanatomy, from the medical students’ perspective

Abstract

Neuroanatomy is a complex and fascinating subject that is often a daunting prospect for medical students. In fact, the fear of learning neuroanatomy has gained its own name – “neurophobia.” This widespread phenomenon among medical students poses a challenge to medical teachers and educators. To tackle “neurophobia” by summarising tips for dynamic and engaging neuroanatomy teaching formulated based on our experiences as medical students and evidence-based techniques.

Focusing on the anatomical, physiological, and clinical aspects of neurology and their integration, here we present 12 tips which are [1] Teach the basic structure before fine details, [2] Supplement teaching with annotated diagrams, [3] Use dissections for haptic learning, [4] Teach form and function together, [5] Group anatomy into systems, [6] Familiarise students with neuroimaging, [7] Teach from clinical cases, [8] Let the patient become the teacher, [9] Build from first principles, [10] Try working in reverse, [11] Let the student become the teacher, [12] Let the student become the examiner. These 12 tips can be used by teachers and students alike to provide a high-yield learning experience.

Keywords:

• Neuroanatomy
• medical education
• near-peer teaching
• neurophobia
• neurosurgery
• neurology

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Gabriele DeLuca, Associated Professor and Director of Clinical Neuroscience of undergraduate education at the University of Oxford, for his stellar tutorials in clinical neuroanatomy and for always asking us “Is it neurological? Where is the lesion? What is the lesion?”. We also thank Dr Stefan Kourdov for comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sanskrithi Sravanam

Sanskrithi Sravanam, BA (Hons), BMBCh (Oxon), is a junior doctor and clinical supervisor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. She has a keen interest in medical education, specifically surgical and anatomical education. She has been an anatomy demonstrator at the University of Oxford. She has engaged in delivery and conceptualisation of multiple teaching programmes including a 12-week MRCS Part A revision series and academic surgery workshop in conjunction with Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Chloë Jacklin

Chloë Jacklin, BA (Hons), BMBCh (Oxon), is a junior doctor and is the lead tutor for Applied Physiology and Pharmacology at Hertford College, Oxford. She has had a keen interest in medical education since medical school having run a 6-month surgical teaching programme for her peers as teaching officer of the Hugh Cairns Surgical Society and led a full-day course teaching the Principles of Plastic Surgery in her capacity as President of the Oxford Society for Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Eoghan McNelis

Eoghan McNelis, BA (Hons), BMBCh (Oxon), is an FY2 doctor working in A&E at St Thomas’ Hospital. He has been involved in medical education throughout his career, running Ophthalmology and Paediatrics teaching sessions during his foundation years, and ran the student-led undergraduate teaching programme for Ophthalmology while at Oxford University. He specialised in neuroscience for his BA in Medical Sciences.

Kwan Wai Fung

Kwan Wai Fung, BA (Hons), is a 4th-year medical student at the University of Cambridge. She has an interest in neuroscience and neuroanatomy. She specialised in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavioural Science for her BA in Medical Sciences.

Lucy Xu

Lucy Xu, BA (Hons), is a 4th-year medical student at the University of Cambridge. She has an interest in Paediatric Neurology and anatomical diagram illustration. She studied Neuroscience for her BA in Medical Sciences as part of the Physiology, Development and Neurosciences course.