Background/Purpose: The Musculoskeletal (MSK) Education Week is an interprofessional, multidisciplinary, multilevel training initiative launched in 2012. In 2015, this program was expanded to include a written assessment of participants’ knowledge regarding the evaluation and treatment of patients with gout. Our objective was to examine the initial experience in implementation and compare the self-assement versus standardized questions scores.  

Methods: The week-long course is held monthly at a VA Medical Center affiliated with a university training program. The curriculum includes didactics, technology-enhanced simulation, peer-teaching, and culminates in ambulatory clinical experiences and reflective practice. All interns from categorical internal medicine, preliminary neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation programs, residents and fellows from occupational medicine, family medicine, geriatric and rheumatology programs, and students from the physician assistant and advance practice nursing programs participate each year. Evaluations include self-assessments and a 2-station observed structured clinical examination (OSCE). In 2015-16, a 40-item multiple-choice test, which included 28 questions relating to gout, was developed and incorporated into the existing scheme of pre- and post-course assessments.

Results: In 2015-16 to date, 70 trainees have participated in the MSK Education Week. Response rates for the pre-course and post-course gout knowledge assessment were 96% (n = 67) and 93% (n = 65) respectively. Mean pre-course score for questions related to gout were 50% and mean post-course score was 85% with p-value for pre- vs. post-course scores <0.001. Response rates for the pre-course, post-course and retrospective self-assessment surveys were 97% (n = 68), 83% (n = 58), and 53% (n=37) respectively; these results are shown in the Table below as well as a correlation with the objective test scores at completion of the course. Our analysis was limited to the subjects who completed all pre- and post-course self and knowledge assessments.

Conclusion: Increases in self-assessment of knowledge, as well as in written test scores, were observed following participation in the MSK Education Week. There was no correlation between improvement in these two measures, which may be attributable to a ceiling effect associated with nearly universal high self-assessment ratings at the end of the course.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/implementation-of-a-gout-knowledge-based-assessment-tool-in-an-inter-professional-multi-disciplinary-musculoskeletal-training-program/