Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0296, USA.
Med Educ Online. 2009 Sep 28;14:13. doi: 10.3885/meo.2009.Res00301.
To assess the effectiveness of an experimental curriculum on teaching first-year medical students the musculoskeletal exam as compared to a traditional curriculum.
Musculoskeletal complaints are common in the primary care setting. Practitioners are often deficient in examination skills and knowledge regarding musculoskeletal diseases. There is a lack of uniformity regarding how to teach the musculoskeletal examination among sub-specialists. We propose a novel web-based approach to teaching the musculoskeletal exam that is enhanced by peer practice with pathophysiology-focused cases. We sought to assess the effectiveness of an innovative musculoskeletal curriculum on the knowledge and skills of first-year medical students related to musculoskeletal physical diagnosis as compared to a traditional curriculum. The secondary purpose of this study was to assess satisfaction of students and preceptors exposed to this teaching method.
This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a single LCME-accredited medical school and included a convenience sample from 2 consecutive classes of medical students during the musculoskeletal portion of their physical diagnosis class. We conducted a needs assessment of the traditional curriculum used to teach musculoskeletal examination. The needs assessment informed the development of an experimental curriculum. One class (control group) received the traditional curriculum while the second class (experimental group) received the experimental curriculum, consisting of a web-based musculoskeletal tutorial, pathophysiology-focused cases, and facilitator preparation. We used multiple-choice questions and musculoskeletal OSCE scores to assess differences between knowledge and skills in the 2 groups.
The sample consisted of 140 students in each medical school class. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups. One hundred seven students from the control group and 120 students from the experimental group took the multiple-choice examination. The average score was 66% (95% CI= 59.7-72.3) for the control group and 66% (95% CI = 60.5-71.5) for the experimental group. There was no difference between the median musculoskeletal OSCE scores between the 2 groups. The experimental group was satisfied with the new teaching method and gained the additional benefit of a persistent resource.
This web-based experimental curriculum was as effective as the traditional curriculum for teaching the musculoskeletal exam. Additionally, users were satisfied with the web-based training and benefited from a persistent resource.
评估与传统课程相比，实验课程在教授一年级医学生进行肌肉骨骼检查方面的效果。
肌肉骨骼疾病在初级保健环境中很常见。医生在检查技能和肌肉骨骼疾病知识方面往往存在不足。在如何教授肌肉骨骼检查方面，各专业之间缺乏统一性。我们提出了一种新的基于网络的方法来教授肌肉骨骼检查，该方法通过与以病理生理学为重点的病例进行同伴实践得到了增强。我们旨在评估创新的肌肉骨骼课程对一年级医学生在肌肉骨骼物理诊断方面的知识和技能的有效性，与传统课程相比。本研究的次要目的是评估接触这种教学方法的学生和导师的满意度。
这项准实验研究在一所单一的 LCME 认证的医学院进行，包括连续两个班的医学生在他们的物理诊断课的肌肉骨骼部分的便利样本。我们对用于教授肌肉骨骼检查的传统课程进行了需求评估。需求评估为开发实验课程提供了信息。一个班级（对照组）接受传统课程，而第二个班级（实验组）接受实验课程，包括基于网络的肌肉骨骼教程、以病理生理学为重点的病例和导师准备。我们使用多项选择题和肌肉骨骼 OSCE 分数来评估两组之间的知识和技能差异。
每个医学院班级的样本量均为 140 名学生。两组之间没有统计学上的显著差异。对照组的 107 名学生和实验组的 120 名学生参加了多项选择题考试。对照组的平均分数为 66%（95%置信区间=59.7-72.3），实验组的平均分数为 66%（95%置信区间=60.5-71.5）。两组之间的肌肉骨骼 OSCE 分数中位数没有差异。实验组对新的教学方法感到满意，并获得了持久资源的额外好处。
与传统课程相比，这种基于网络的实验课程在教授肌肉骨骼检查方面同样有效。此外，用户对基于网络的培训感到满意，并从持久的资源中受益。
