Dermatology curriculum for internal medicine residents: a randomized trial

Physicians in specialties other than dermatology care for the majority of patients with skin diseases, yet most physicians receive little training in dermatology.

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether there would be a sizable (20%) improvement in posttraining scores for internal medicine residents after completing 1 of 3 assigned curricula. A secondary objective was to determine whether there were significant differences in improvement among the 3 resident cohorts after completing their curriculum. Finally, we explored the residents' change in perceived clinical knowledge postcurriculum.

Thirty-six postgraduate year 2 internal medicine residents were randomized to complete 1 of 3 one-month dermatology curricula (didactic, clinical, or combined). The main outcome measure was performance on different sets of Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP)-15 questions at study entry and completion. A secondary outcome was self-rated performance in 3 clinical domains.

All participants completed the study. All curricula led to an improvement in MKSAP-15 scores, but only students who completed the didactic curriculum demonstrated a 20% improvement in posttraining scores. A larger number of residents completing the clinical and didactic curricula rated their clinical performance as improved compared to those who completed the combined curriculum.

While all 3 curricula led to improvement, as measured by a standardized assessment, a didactic curriculum in dermatology resulted in the largest improvement in knowledge as measured by a multiple-choice test.