Despite the increasing prevalence of musculoskeletal disease in the population, studies continue to show deficiencies in the duration and extent of musculoskeletal education. From 2009-2013, senior medical students enrolled in a clinical anatomy elective at our institution’s medical school completed pre- and post-course examinations related to musculoskeletal education with associated radiographic interpretation and physical examination correlates. A control group of fourth-year students who did not participate in a clinical anatomy elective completed a comparable exam. Student pre-course and control group test scores averaged 54%. The control group scored at the same level for the radiographic (pre-course average 65%, control-group average 61%, p = 0.21) and physical exam sections (pre-course average 56%, control-group average 53%, p = 0.28), and lower in the musculoskeletal portion (pre-course average 50%, control-group average 39%, p < 0.001). Students completing a clinical anatomy elective scored significantly higher on their post-course examination compared to their pre-course examination on all sections (p < 0.001) and scored higher than their classmates in the control group, with mean test scores of 84% for the combined sections, representing a 28% improvement. Senior medical students demonstrated deficits in knowledge related to musculoskeletal medicine. Following a focused fourth-year anatomy elective providing students with the opportunity to focus their learning of anatomy in a clinical context, students’ knowledge in musculoskeletal medicine increased substantially.
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