How neurologists are viewed by their colleagues: exploring stereotypes and social representations of neurologists

Introduction: The choice of medical specialization is influenced by various factors, including personal, educational, and interpersonal aspects. However, stereotypes and social representations (SRs) can also play a significant role in biasing the choice of a particular medical specialty. The aim of this study is to describe and understand the social representation (SR) of French Neurologist among medical peers, and factors explaining stereotypes about neurology.

Methods: A nationwide web-based survey was sent to the French medical community (students, residents, and graduated physicians) to collect sociodemographic and professional data, status, experience, and acquaintance in Neurology as well as qualitative hierarchical evocation question to assess the SR of French Neurologists.

Results: Overall, 367 people participated in the survey, including 112 medical students, 170 residents, and 85 graduated physicians. Only 14.3% of students listed neurology among their top 5 specialty choices, and 63.8% disagreed with the statement "I could have chosen (or I will choose) neurology after the validation of my 6th year of medical studies." Qualitative analysis revealed that the most frequently occurring words used to describe neurologists were "stroke", "complicated", "no treatment," "clinical", and "brain" and five themes corresponded to SRs of neurologist: his/her personal and professional traits (36.4% of the corpus), his/her daily practice (18.1%), the negative aspects of the neurological practice (15.3%), and the neurological pathology and daily skills (30.2%).

Conclusion: The perception of neurologists by other physicians is nuanced. Neurologists are described as rigorous specialists, maybe excessively so but the cliché of a contemplative specialty with no effective treatment remains. The specialty and neurological patients suffer also from a reputation of complexity. Further interventions among medical students and better information are required to increase the attractiveness of our specialty.