Positive impact of an intervention by arthritis educators on retention of information, confidence, and examination skills of medical students.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether an intervention by trained persons with arthritis could have a positive impact on retention of information, confidence, and examination skills of medical students.

METHODS

Second-year medical students were introduced to the musculoskeletal examination as part of their Introduction to Clinical Medicine course by viewing a video (n = 93) or were taught the joint examination by a trained arthritis educator after viewing the video (n = 88). Each group was tested before and after the intervention about arthritis information, confidence, and attitude about arthritis and also evaluated for the ability to carry out a musculoskeletal examination.

RESULTS

Retention of information and confidence of both groups increased as a result of the intervention. However, students who received the arthritis educator intervention increased their scores significantly in comparison. Musculoskeletal examination skills of the students receiving the arthritis educator intervention were also significantly greater than the control group.

CONCLUSION

An intervention by arthritis educators improved the retention of information, confidence, and examination skills of second-year medical students significantly compared with the standard educational approach. The impact of the intervention persisted for at least two weeks.