A Cross-sectional Study on the Knowledge in Musculoskeletal Medicine of Undergraduate Medical Students in a National University

Objectives. This study aimed to compare the evaluation results of University of the Philippines - College of Medicine (UPCM) Learning Unit VI (LU VI) students in their Musculoskeletal (MSK) year-end module examination and final module grade to their results in the MSK 30 examination. It likewise sought to assess the adequacy of the institution’s current curriculum on the basis of the most clinically relevant MSK topics included in the MSK 30.Methods. The knowledge of the students in Musculoskeletal medicine was determined using the MSK 30 validated exam and this was compared to their results in the various evaluation tools of the present MSK curriculum. The results were subjected to statistical analysis using (1) the Pearson correlation coefficient and (2) item analysis.Results. Despite exhibiting above average performance in the MSK module, the performance of the 66 (N=187) LU VI students in the MSK 30 showed otherwise with a passing rate of only 48.48%. There was no statistically significant correlation between the MSK 30 and the year-end module examination (p value = 0.77, CI 90%, ME 8%), and the final module grade (p value = 0.92, CI 90%, ME 8%). It was noted that the students did poorly in the following topics: Environmental Injury, Head Injury, Infection, Pediatrics, Spine, and Sports Injuries.Conclusion. Undergraduate medical students of the University of the Philippines - College of Medicine performed poorly in the MSK 30 despite a generally good performance in the prescribed MSK module. Whether this is indicative of inadequacies in the existing MSK curriculum or is due to the MSK 30 not being appropriate to the local setting will need to be determined.