Objective:

To identify knowledge gaps of providers who registered for an online course on functional neurologic disorder (FND). 

Background:

The shift away from terminology such as “psychogenic” or “conversion” disorders underscores advances in how FND is conceptualized. Previous surveys have found gaps in the assimilation of these newer concepts among medical providers. The problem is exacerbated by limited education within medical school and post-graduate training on FND, despite how common the disorder is. Although provider knowledge has been surveyed, they have not been qualitatively assessed. Qualitative analysis allows participants to demonstrate their own specific knowledge gaps rather than quantifying the knowledge gaps selected by designers of a survey.

Design/Methods:

A qualitative descriptive research design was employed using conventional content analysis. Providers from various disciplines including neurologists and other physicians, psychologists, and physical therapists enrolled in a virtual course containing 9 asynchronous lectures on various FND topics followed by 2 live webinars (https://www.fndsociety.org/fnd-education/virtual-education-course). Participants were invited to submit questions to the expert panel about the acute care of FND. 

Results:

Data were collected from 268 participants over 2 months. Participant responses clustered on specific scenarios, such as functional seizure disorder, communication challenges with patients and other providers, inpatient challenges, such as when to admit a patient, and outpatient challenges, such as limited access to multidisciplinary teams. Some participants explicitly stated obsolete attitudes on FND in their responses.

Conclusions:

Analysis of the responses revealed potential underexplored avenues for high-impact education on FND: Functional seizure and other commonly misunderstood conditions, case-based learning to better foster illness scripts, and modules on CBT for the non-therapist FND provider. These interventions would enhance existing educational tools to allow providers in every setting to better care for FND patients.