The following is a summary of “Assessment of brief online approaches for teaching neuroscience in psychiatry,” published in the March 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Arbuckle et al.
Neurologists and psychiatrists treat brain and mental health conditions but with different focuses. Neurologists specialize in physiological ailments, whereas psychiatrists specialize in psychological disorders.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess and evaluate an online database of educational resources (videos, case studies, articles) designed to teach various concepts in neuroscience relevant to psychiatry.
They sampled 52 psychiatrists enrolled in the study. Of those, 40 completed an assessment before and after accessing the educational resource for 4 weeks. The pre-and post-assessments were compared using paired t-tests, and fifteen participants were randomly selected for a semi-structured interview.
The results showed an increase in mean knowledge score on a multiple choice quiz from 46.9 to 86.4% (P<0.01). Participants also reported gaining self-confidence to integrate a neuroscience perspective into their clinical work (P=0.03) and discuss neuroscience with their patients (P=0.008). Participants reported increased use of neuroscience concepts in case formulation, treatment planning, and frequent patient discussions (P ≤ .001). Resources were highly rated for practical, relevant (100%), and engaging (95%) findings. The mixed teaching methods and brief format, noting positive impacts, were praised in interviews in clinical practice.
Investigators concluded that online teaching resources can enhance neuroscience education among psychiatrists, which may help integrate neuroscience with clinical practice.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40596-024-01947-1
