Introduction
We evaluated whether an eminently theoretical undergraduate teaching of neurology includes adequate training to perform neurological differential diagnoses.
Methods
In 2023, 165 students received theoretical and practical hospital classes. They had the option of continuous evaluation, and as part of it, the final exercise, conducted after the theoretical exam, involved creating a list of differential diagnoses for a patient presenting with dysphagia+dysarthria+diplopia. The responses were evaluated by comparing them with a «gold-standard” (the result of the same exercise performed by 5 experienced neurologists), and these results were compared with the theoretical grade.
Results
61 students participated. To analyze the relationship between the exercise grade and the theoretical exam, we used the Pearson correlation coefficient, which yielded a result of 0.052 (p=.690).
Conclusion
Our data suggest that an eminently theoretical undergraduate education may not be adequate for acquiring skills in neurological differential diagnosis.