Nottingham research team to develop more effective training package for medical students
A new teaching aid to help medical students develop a more effective "hands-on" approach to screening for arthritic conditions is to be developed by a leading research team in Nottingham.
Consultant rheumatologist Professor Mike Doherty and physiotherapy lecturer Simon Mockett from the University of Nottingham have been awarded a 12-month £14,000 grant from the Arthritis Research Campaign to produce an interactive computer-based learning package which could be used in UK medical schools. The aim is to enhance the core clinical skills of undergraduates.
The usual method of teaching students how to screen for musculoskeletal disorders and levels of disability is by written instruction and practical demonstration on one patient, supported by an ARC video. This passive way of learning allows students little opportunity to assess their understanding or to revisit the learning.
The Nottingham project aims to provide a more user-friendly, interactive computer-based package, which will give students more opportunity to learn more about the screening tool, and likely symptoms from different patients on video. Students will be able them to go back and re-check the facts as often as they need to.
Once the package has been produced, it will be tested on students in several medical schools to assess its effectiveness.
The Arthritis Research Campaign is the fifth biggest medical research charity in the UK, and is funded entirely by public donations. As well as funding research, its role is to improve the knowledge of the medical profession and health care professionals about arthritis, as well as providing information for members of the public.
