Can Medical Students Learn the Pediatric Musculoskeletal Examination Independently?

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Musculoskeletal Health
• Medical Education
• Clinical Skills Training

Background:

• Graduating medical students often lack confidence and proficiency in performing pediatric musculoskeletal examinations.
• Current medical education may not provide sufficient training in specialized pediatric physical assessments.
• The pediatric Gait, Arms, Legs, and Spine (pGALS) assessment is a structured method for evaluating pediatric musculoskeletal health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if medical students can independently learn the pediatric Gait, Arms, Legs, and Spine (pGALS) assessment.
• To evaluate the impact of pGALS training on students' confidence and proficiency in pediatric musculoskeletal examinations.

Main Methods:

• Fourth-year medical students were surveyed on their confidence and experience with pediatric musculoskeletal training.
• Students performed initial and post-training pediatric musculoskeletal examinations scored using the pGALS criteria.
• An intervention involved students watching pGALS training videos.

Main Results:

• Student confidence in pediatric musculoskeletal examination skills increased from 21.4% to 100% post-training (P < 0.0001).
• Pre- and post-training examination scores showed statistically significant improvement (P = 0.0001).
• All participants found the pGALS tool beneficial and desired further training.

Conclusions:

• Medical students may lack confidence and proficiency in pediatric musculoskeletal examinations.
• pGALS assessment instruction is a potentially low-cost and efficient method to enhance student confidence and proficiency in pediatric musculoskeletal examinations.