Teaching the musculoskeletal examination: are patient educators as effective as rheumatology faculty?

Effective education of clinical skills is essential if doctors are to meet the needs of patients with rheumatic disease, but shrinking faculty numbers has made clinical teaching difficult. A solution to this problem is to utilize patient educators.

This study evaluates the teaching effectiveness of patient educators compared to rheumatology faculty using the musculoskeletal (MSK) examination.

Sixty-two 2nd-year medical students were randomized to receive instruction from patient educators or faculty. Tutorial groups received instructions during three, 3-hr sessions. Clinical skills were evaluated by a 9 station objective structured clinical examination. Students completed a tutor evaluation form to assess their level of satisfaction with the process.

Faculty-taught students received a higher overall mark (66.5% vs. 62.1%,) and fewer failed than patient educator-taught students (5 vs. 0, p = 0.02). Students rated faculty educators higher than patient educators (4.13 vs. 3.58 on a 5-point Likert scale).

Rheumatology faculty appear to be more effective teachers of the MSK physical exam than patient educators.