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Learning the thyroid examination--a multimodality intervention for internal medicine residents
William A Houck1, Cacia V Soares-Welch, Victor M Montori
1Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Teaching and Learning in Medicine
|February 28, 2002
Summary
A 1-hour educational session significantly improved first-year internal medicine residents' ability to detect thyroid abnormalities during physical examinations. This intervention enhanced diagnostic skills for thyroid conditions.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Internal Medicine
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Physicians often lack adequate physical diagnosis skills.
- Detecting thyroid abnormalities during physical examination is a common challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of a multimodality intervention in improving thyroid examination skills.
- The study focused on first-year internal medicine residents.
Main Methods:
- A prospective controlled trial was conducted.
- The intervention group received a 60-minute educational session including lectures, animation, video, and live demonstration.
- Both groups underwent objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) to assess skills.
Main Results:
- The intervention group showed a significantly higher mean score in identifying thyroid physical findings during the OSCE (100 vs. 52.5, P = 0.047).
- While not statistically significant, the intervention group showed higher rates in observing the neck (32% vs. 15%) and using proper hand position (90% vs. 80%).
Conclusions:
- A brief, 1-hour multimodality learning session effectively enhanced residents' ability to detect thyroid abnormalities.
- The intervention shows promise for improving physical diagnosis skills in internal medicine.