Abstract
Background: Mastery of musculoskeletal (MSK) examination is an essential skill required in the daily practice of a wide variety of fields, including internal medicine, family medicine, rheumatology, emergency medicine, pediatrics and orthopedic surgery; however, an inadequacy of MSK medicine education has been observed in medical colleges worldwide.
Objective: The main aim of this study was to assess the competence of senior medical students and interns in examining the MSK system.
Design: This was a cross-sectional survey.
Setting: This study was conducted between April 2016 and June 2016 at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. Participants: The sample comprised final-year medical students and medical interns. Main Outcome Measures: Score on the Freedman and Bernstein examination and students' levels of confidence in examining the MSK system.
Results: A total of 140 respondents (medical interns, 42.1% and sixth year students, 57.9%) completed the survey. The mean GPA of the students was 4 (SD 0.41), and the mean grade was 9.82 (SD 3.83) out of 25. Only two participants scored 70%, representing a passing rate of 1.4%. A strong significant correlation was observed between GPA and exam passing score (r = .580; P-value = 0.0016). We also observed a significant association between student level and passing grade. Nearly half of the participants reported that the MSK medicine curriculum needed to be improved.
Conclusion: These analyses suggest that undergraduate medical education in MSK is insufficient, as close to 99% of our senior medical students and interns failed to demonstrate competency using the passing grade set by internal medicine residency program directors. Limitations: It would have been beneficial to assess students' MSK examination competency before and after enactments in the MSK curriculum to determine the impact of a new curriculum.