Are neurology residents interested in headache?

Abstract

The years of residency are the pillars of the subsequent practice in every medical specialty. The aim of our study is to evaluate the current situation, degree of involvement, main interests, and perceived quality of the training received by Spanish residents of neurology, specifically in the area of headache. A self-administered survey was designed by the Headache Study Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology (GECSEN) and was sent via e-mail to all residents who were members of the Society as of May 2015. Fifty-three residents completed the survey (N = 426, 12.4%): 6% were first year residents, 25.5% second year, 23.5% third year, and 45% fourth year residents, all from 13 different Spanish autonomous communities. The areas of greatest interest are, in this order: Vascular neurology, headache, and epilepsy. Of them, 85% believe that the area of headache is undervalued. More than half of residents (52.8%) do not rotate in specific Headache Units and only 35.8% complete their training dominating anaesthetic block and toxin infiltration techniques. Of them, 81.1% believe that research is scarce or absent; 69.8% have never made a poster/presentation, 79.3% have not published and only 15% collaborate on research projects in this area. Lastly, 40% believe that they have not received adequate training. Headache is among the areas that interest our residents the most; however, we believe that we must improve their training both at a patient healthcare level and as researchers. Thus, increasing the number of available courses, creating educational web pages, involving residents in research, and making a rotation in a specialised unit mandatory are among the fundamental objectives of the GECSEN.