Skin of Colour Dermatoses Self-Learning Module: Assessing Student Comprehension

Dermatology for diverse skin types is a globally growing area of medicine, but the inclusion of skin of color dermatology has not yet been formally included across all Canadian undergraduate medical education curricula. There is also a paucity of representation of diverse skin types in most medical textbooks, research, and clinical trials.

The main objective was to develop a concise, Skin of Colour Dermatoses Self-Learning Module (SOCSLM) that could be implemented at an undergraduate medical education level. The secondary objective was to analyze participant responses to improve and add to learning module content.

From March to May 2022, second-year medical students at the University of Ottawa completed pre- and post-SOCSLM questionnaires which were available in French and English through their online student learning portals. The pre-test consisted of five multiple choice questions relating to images of dermatoses seen in diverse skin types. The post-test repeated the same five questions, rearranged, with an additional five new ones, and responses were analyzed.

Twenty-five participants completed the surveys, and twenty responses were included. Percent correct answers increased between pre- and post-test, 51% vs 87%. In the post-test, questions repeated from the pre-test had a mean score of 95% while the new post-test questions had a mean score of 80%. Interest in dermatology did not have an impact on correct response rates.

Skin of color dermatology self-learning modules may be an effective way to integrate skin of color dermatology into undergraduate medical curricula.