Stoke on Trent researchers aim to improve training for medical students
A research team in Stoke on Trent is aiming to improve the training given to medical students and nurses by producing and assessing a multi-media computer package.
Despite the large number of patients attending their GP surgeries with musculoskeletal conditions, a recent survey revealed that fewer than half of all GP trainees had ever had specific rheumatology training at medical school. As a result, family doctors had little confidence in their abilities to diagnose and assess arthritic conditions.
With funding from the Arthritis Research Campaign, a team based at the Staffordshire Rheumatology Centre at the Haywood Hospital has produced a CD ROM called Virtual Rheumatology, designed to teach clinical assessment of the shoulder and knee to medical students.
Now the ARC has awarded the team, led by rheumatologist and senior lecturer Dr Andy Hassell, a further grant of almost £95,000 to evaluate the effectiveness of the package as a learning tool over the next three years.
"It's important that all doctors have the necessary skills to examine and assess joints," explained Dr Hassell. "In the past, teaching of these skills has not been a priority in medical schools, and there is a need for it to be improved, despite financial and staffing restrictions."
A limited pilot evaluation has already shown that the package could be very useful in teaching not only medical students, but also GP trainees and rheumatology nurses.
The CD explains anatomy and examination techniques, and includes digital video sequences to demonstrate joint examination, with a self-assessment component included in each module.
Students at various medical schools throughout the country will be involved in assessing the effectiveness of the CD ROM through questionnaires and focus groups. The views of teachers and independent experts will also be sought. If the results show high levels of effectiveness, it will be distributed more widely and incorporated into medical school training programmes.
The Arthritis Research Campaign is the only medical research charity which exists to find the cause of and cure for arthritis through more than 350 research programmes. It also has an education remit to educate medical and health care professionals, and people with arthritis, about the condition.
