Evaluating Musculoskeletal Anatomy Knowledge Among First-Year Medical Students: A Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Several studies have highlighted insufficient musculoskeletal (MSK) anatomy knowledge among medical students and residents. The current study evaluated MSK anatomy examination scores between successive cohorts of first-year medical students to compare three interventions: (A) a teaching-assistant-led pre-examination review session; (B) a clinical skills teaching session of the knee and shoulder joints, which was reinforced during anatomy dissection sessions, and (C) a combination of interventions (A) and (B).

Methods: Intervention A was administered to cohort A (Class of 2025) during their first year of medical school. Intervention B was administered to cohort B (Class of 2026) during their first year of medical school. Intervention C was provided to cohort C (Class of 2027) during their first year of medical school. Outcome measures included (1) scores from a 30-question multiple-choice anatomy final examination, and (2) scores from 10 of the 30 questions that were related to the clinical skills teaching session.

Results: Data from all members of each class of 77 students were captured (n = 231) and outliers (data points outside 1.5 times the IQR from the lower and upper quartiles) from each class were removed for analyses. Results showed (1) cohort C scored 3.3% higher than cohort B (p < 0.05) on all 30 questions and (2) cohort C scored 5.1% better than cohort B (p < 0.05) and 5.0% higher than the cohort A (p < 0.05) on the 10 questions related to the clinical skills teaching session. No other comparisons yielded significant results.

Discussion: The significantly higher MSK anatomy examination scores in cohort C suggested that a combination of pre-exam review sessions with clinical skills teaching sessions (intervention C) enhanced students' knowledge of MSK anatomy more effectively than intervention A or intervention B alone. Longitudinal assessments and similar research at other institutions may further elucidate the differential effects of clinical skills teaching and pre-examination review sessions on medical students’ MSK anatomy knowledge.