title: Impact of a three-dimensional "hands-on" anatomic teaching module on acetabular fracture pattern recognition by orthopaedic residents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Much of the difficulty in understanding acetabular fracture patterns is due to the complex three-dimensional relationship of the acetabulum to the greater pelvis. We hypothesized that combining three-dimensional "hands-on" anatomic models with two-dimensional informational teaching sheets would improve the ability of orthopaedic residents to accurately classify acetabular fracture patterns and aid in preoperative surgical approach selection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five orthopaedic residents from two programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education participated in this prospective study. Twenty-question quizzes based on radiographs and computed tomography images of acetabular fractures tested the ability of the residents to accurately classify these fractures. One-half of the residents had access to informational teaching sheets only, and the other group had access to three-dimensional pelvic models of the fractures in addition to the informational sheets.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a positive correlation between the postgraduate year in training and the mean pre-intervention quiz score (r2 = 0.89). The mean improvement in the quiz score was 15% ± 15% for first and second-year residents compared with 3% ± 12% for fourth and fifth-year residents (p = 0.04). The resident group that used the three-dimensional "hands-on" models showed greater post-intervention improvement in the quiz score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this preliminary study, active learning that incorporated three-dimensional "hands-on" pelvic models improved the ability of orthopaedic residents to accurately classify acetabular fracture patterns compared with use of informational teaching sheets alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, 500 Parnassus Avenue, Box 0728-MU 320W, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. erik.hansen415@gmail.com
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Meir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marmor
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matityahu
mesh_terms: D000077:Acetabulum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007396:Internship and Residency; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000193:education; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States