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Table 1 Current level of knowledge, difficulty and confidence in the different medical specialties among medical students and non-specialist doctors

From: Neurophobia among medical students and non-specialist doctors in Sri Lanka

 

Mean score (±SD)

Medical Students (n = 148)

Doctors (n = 100)

Current level of knowledge (range 0–5)

  

  Cardiology

3.12 (±0.86)*

2.96 (±1.03)*

  Respiratory Medicine

3.00 (±0.90)*

2.86 (±1.00)*

  Gastroenterology

2.84 (±0.87)*

2.75 (±0.90)*

  Endocrinology

2.54 (±0.99)

2.59 (±0.98)

  Neurology

2.53 (±0.96)*

2.59 (±1.08)*

  Rheumatology

2.42 (±0.94)

2.57 (±1.06)

  Dermatology

2.16 (±1.00)*

2.49 (±1.10)

Level of difficulty (range 0–5)

  

  Neurology

3.46 (±0.99)*

3.33 (±1.11)*

  Endocrinology

3.07 (±0.96)*

3.03 (±0.90)*

  Cardiology

3.06 (±0.84)*

3.03 (±0.98)*

  Gastroenterology

2.84 (±0.78)*

2.55 (±0.87)*

  Rheumatology

2.82 (±0.88)*

2.64 (±1.08)*

  Dermatology

2.80 (±1.11)*

2.76 (±0.90)*

  Respiratory Medicine

2.73 (±0.82)*

2.69 (±0.93)*

Level of confidence (range 0–4)

  

  Shortness of breath

2.72 (±0.66)a,b,c

2.58 (±0.80)a,b,c

  Chest pain

2.70 (±0.75)a,b,c

2.66 (±0.85)a,b,c

  Fever

2.68 (±0.73)a,b,c

2.80 (±0.79)a,b,c

  Heartburn

2.65 (±0.72)a,b,c

2.91 (±0.83)a,b,c

  Cough

2.62 (±0.65)a,b,c

2.94 (±0.72)a,b,c

  Abdominal pain

2.35 (±0.69)a,b,c

2.45 (±0.79)a,b,c

  Headache

2.13 (±0.78)a

2.30 (±0.86)a

  Numbness of feet

2.03 (±0.64)b

2.13 (±0.78)b

  Dizziness

1.91 (±0.73)c

2.31 (±0.79)c

  1. *Mean for Neurology significantly different from means for these specialties (p < 0.01); a,b,cNeurological complaints had a significantly lower mean compared with other complaints (p < 0.05)