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202 Functional Neurological disorder (FND): the blind spot in undergraduate medical education

jnnp · 2025-11-26 · canonical JSON source

2 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is one of the most frequent causes of neurology OPD visits and admissions. Despite its prevalence and socioeconomic impact, it receives limited attention in undergraduate medical education. This study explores medical students’ knowledge of FND and compares it to their understanding of other common neurological conditions, aiming to evaluate students’ awareness of FND and identify any gaps in their training.Methods An anonymous online survey was distributed to pre-clinical and clinical undergraduate medical students in the UK, assessing their familiarity with FND and their ability to recognise its clinical features. Students’ knowledge of FND was compared to that of other commonly taught neurological disorders.Results Preliminary findings indicate that, although 63.7% of participants had completed a neurology module, all respondents ranked FND as their least understood condition. Moreover, 76.9% reported discomfort in recognising and differentiating FND from other neurological disorders. All (100%) participants attributed this gap to insufficient FND teaching, underscoring a critical need for curriculum modification.Conclusion These results highlight the need to reshape undergraduate medical education to facilitate better FND awareness, diagnosis and management. Addressing this deficit may help future clinicians deliver more comprehensive care and reduce the burden of this prevalent disorder.deaudrisha@gmail.com