Who Chooses Neurosurgery, and Why? New NERC Research on Early Exposure and Mentorship

Two recent studies by members of the NERC team look at how Canadian medical students come to neurosurgery, and the role that early exposure and mentorship play. Below is a summary of each study’s design and main findings, as reported by the authors.

A national survey of Canadian medical students.  Arfaie and colleagues surveyed 136 medical students from 14 accredited Canadian medical schools about mentorship, educational opportunities and interest in neurosurgery. Just over half (55.9%) had prior exposure to neurosurgery. The most commonly cited deterrents were work–life balance (94.5%) and family (84.6%). In multivariable analysis, two factors were significant predictors of interest in neurosurgery:

• taking part in relevant case-based discussion (OR 2.64; 95% CI 1.22–5.85; p = 0.015)

• involvement in neurosurgical research encouraged by the home institution (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.12–2.40; p = 0.012)
  

The authors suggest that efforts to build interest should prioritise early exposure, such as pre-clerkship neurosurgical electives or neurosurgery-focused student groups.

Arfaie S, Niazi F, Hazrati R, Patel Z, Ahmed A, Al-Bader R, Ma C, Otaner F, Zamiri S, Kumar A. Can J Neurol Sci. 2026;53(3):439–447. Read the paper →

A multi-institutional qualitative study. Otaner and colleagues ran a virtual focus group with six medical students from Laval University, McGill University and the University of Toronto. Three themes emerged: the role of early exposure to neurosurgery, the impact of gender-related barriers, and the limits of current undergraduate curricula.

Students with early exposure through research, mentorship or clinical shadowing showed more interest in the field and were more willing to pursue electives. Students without exposure often held misconceptions about lifestyle, neurosurgeon personalities and working conditions, and felt at a disadvantage when their interest developed later. Female participants highlighted concerns about work–life balance, family planning and underrepresentation. Students across all three schools described minimal structured exposure to neurosurgery in the curriculum.

Their suggestions included earlier and more accessible electives, more visible diverse mentors, funding for research and conferences, and formal mentorship opportunities. The authors describe this as the first multi-institutional qualitative study of Canadian medical students' perceptions of neurosurgery.

Otaner F, Ahmed A, Patel Z, Niazi F, Arfaie S, Genus S, Kumar A. J Surg Educ. 2026;83(1):103778. Read the paper →