To describe initial experiences with implementation of the Student Neurology Ambulatory Preceptorship (SNAP).

Medical students receive low exposure to outpatient neurology.  As a remedy, SNAP is a mentored experience for Weill Cornell medical students in ambulatory neurology.

A needs assessment survey completed by students interested in neurology and neurology residents and faculty at Weill Cornell focused on outpatient neurology experiences in medical school to inform an approach for SNAP prior to February 2025 launch.  Based on the needs assessment, we designed SNAP to include a pre-watched neurological examination tutorial, extended time for two patients in first-time consultation, preceptor review, debriefing, and educational material creation related to clinical encounters. Students completed a post-SNAP assessment of their experiences.

Needs assessment survey respondents included students (n=2), trainees (n=10), and faculty (n=34). Medical school experiences included neurology clerkships (n=43, 93%), electives (n=32, 70%), and sub-internships (n=31, 67%), typically 6-10 half-day total outpatient sessions.  Seventy-three percent (n=32) felt student experiences should feature ³50% outpatient time.  Mentorship (36%, n=14), subspecialty exposure (31%, n=12), and clinical skill development (21%, n=8) were benefits of outpatient experiences appreciated in medical school.  Areas for improvement included lack of outpatient exposure (41%, n=14), shadowing (21%, n=7), and absent subspecialty exposure (12%, n=4).  For faculty, time (76%, n=26) and space (68%, n=23) were barriers for students to work with them in the outpatient setting.

6 students completed 7 SNAP clinics.  Residency preferences included neurology (n=4) and psychiatry (n=2).  Diagnoses seen included migraine (n=8), CADASIL, idiopathic facial pain, new daily persistent headache, persistent postural perceptual dizziness, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and occipital neuralgia (all n=1).  Students created multiple choice questions (n=4), department newsletter clinical bulletins (n=4), and infographics (n=2) as educational activities.  Post-surveys yielded high satisfaction (100%).

SNAP successfully launched after needs assessment demonstrated limited outpatient neurology experiences in medical school.