Musculoskeletal Teaching and Training in Saudi Internal Medicine Residency Programmes

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are among the most common complains presented at the clinical practice, accounting about 15% - 30% of all primary care encounters. However, clinical doctors continue to document a low level of confidence in their musculoskeletal clinical skills. Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the internal medicine (IM) residents for confidence and perception in demonstrating musculoskeletal clinical skills. Methods: 37 items paper-based questionnaire was developed and piloted to investigate IM residents in Saudi Arabia during June-December 2011. Results: The study indicates residents’ low self-confidence in demonstrating MSK physical examinations with total mean (10/24). Respondents also show general agreement that MSK problems are very common in patient visits, and indicate the importance of MSK clinical screening in all standard clinical examination of patients, yet they point to current inappropriate practice in handling most cases. Respondents show lower perception of undergraduate and postgraduate training, regarding the inadequate training and assessment in MSK. Conclusions: The study shows inadequate MSK education, during and post, medical school training and that there are different training approaches for the different specialties, which undermines MSK training altogether.