Assessment of medical school musculoskeletal education

Most medical fields require a basic knowledge of musculoskeletal medicine. Although many nonorthopedic clinicians treat musculoskeletal problems, this area of medicine is often given little time in medical school curricula. In the study reported here, a validated musculoskeletal cognitive evaluation was given to medical students before and after a new musculoskeletal module to determine the impact of the module on their competency in musculoskeletal medicine. Four hundred five students at a single medical school took the examination, which was corrected according to a validated scoring system, and the data were subsequently analyzed. Mean cognitive examination score was 40%. The recommended mean passing score for the examination is 73.1%. Scores were significantly (P < .05) higher for the premodule group (42.1%) than the postmodule group (39.1%). Statistical significance was set at P < .05. Students' overall mean score was far below passing, which demonstrates the inadequacy of musculoskeletal education within the medical school curriculum. That the postmodule group scored lower than the premodule group suggests that increasing musculoskeletal lecture time may not improve medical students' musculoskeletal knowledge.