Early Exposure to Neonatal Neurology and Cranial Ultrasound: A Pilot Evaluation of an Undergraduate Course

Background/Objectives: Undergraduate medical exposure to neonatal neurology and cranial ultrasound remains limited, despite their relevance to neonatal clinical care. We developed a two-day monographic course integrating developmental neuroscience, neonatal clinical reasoning, neurological assessment, and bedside-oriented cranial ultrasound. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the acceptability, perceived educational relevance, and self-reported learning associated with the intervention. Methods: We conducted a single-center cross-sectional anonymous post-course evaluation among fourth- to sixth-year medical students at the University of Genoa, Italy, in October 2025. Seventeen students attended the course, and all completed an anonymous post-course questionnaire (response rate, 100%). The locally developed questionnaire included demographic items, five-point Likert-scale questions, categorical responses, retrospective self-ratings of knowledge before and after course attendance, and optional free-text comments. Descriptive statistics and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Paired comparisons were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Seventeen students completed the questionnaire. The mean overall course evaluation was 4.18 ± 1.19/5 (95% CI 3.57–4.79) with a median rating of 5 (IQR 3–5), while perceived curricular relevance was rated 4.94 ± 0.24/5. The practical component received higher ratings than the theoretical component (4.88 ± 0.33 vs. 4.47 ± 0.62; median 5 [IQR 5–5] vs. 5 [IQR 4–5]; exploratory Wilcoxon signed-rank p = 0.020). Retrospective self-rated knowledge increased from 3.29 ± 1.10 before the course to 4.12 ± 0.70 after course completion (median 4 [IQR 4–5] vs. 3 [IQR 2–4]; exploratory p = 0.010). All respondents considered the educational format potentially applicable to other areas of the medical curriculum and 14/17 supported its replication within it. Eight respondents (47.1%) provided at least one optional free-text comment. Positive feedback highlighted the integration of theoretical and practical teaching and the small-group format, while suggestions included closer temporal integration of theory and practice (n = 3) and additional opportunities for direct hands-on cranial ultrasound experience (n = 2). Conclusions: This pilot course was highly acceptable and was associated with higher post-course knowledge self-ratings than retrospective pre-course ones. The practical cranial ultrasound component was particularly well received. A compact theory-to-practice format may offer an educational approach that was well accepted and perceived as valuable by participating students to introducing complex and underrepresented neonatal topics during undergraduate medical education. However, future multicenter studies incorporating objective learning outcomes and longer-term follow-up are needed.