A neurologist in Zambia.

Those uninitiated to medicine in the tropics may consider neurology and neurologists superfluous in this environment. In actual fact, the high burden of neurologic disorders combined with a dearth of physician-level care providers brings such expertise into high demand. Clinical work in sub-Saharan Africa offers the neurologist an opportunity to care for a wide range of conditions, including disorders Westerners may only be familiar with via historical accounts. Physicians starved of academic exchange and paramedical-care providers who frequently function without physician-level support are equally enthusiastic for additional training in the diagnosis and treatment of the nervous system disorders which are encountered daily.