You've Got to Hand It to Them: Assessing Final Year Medical Students Knowledge of Hand Anatomy and Pathology.
Knowledge of hand anatomy and pathology is important for final year medical students as it frequently appears in examinations as a short case or in a written paper. Studies have shown that doctors in the Emergency Department have a deficient grasp of musculoskeletal anatomy secondary to a lack of dedicated teaching in medical school.



A questionnaire was handed out to 111 final year medical students. Students were asked to fill it out before and after dedicated upper limb teaching sessions during their rotation. The questionnaire consisted of an anatomical and pathological component. Students were tested on basic anatomy and pathology of several common upper limb conditions.



There was a significant improvement in the medical students knowledge after the dedicated hand teaching. The identification of the carpal bones showed the most improvement overall.



Basic musculoskeletal knowledge is essential to the practice of medicine. The majority of medical students gravitate towards a career in general practice or emergency medicine and good knowledge of upper limb anatomy is important. We have piloted a new interactive dedicated upper limb teaching module and have shown that there has been a significant improvement in students knowledge.
* Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Ireland.
Cormac Weekes
CW
Joyce
* Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Ireland.
Shazrinizam
S
Shaharan
* Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Ireland.
Kate
K
Lawlor
† Turloughmore Medical Centre, Turloughmore, Ireland.
Melanie Elizabeth
ME
Burke
‡ Department of Surgery, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Michael John
MJ
Kerin
* Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospital Galway, Ireland.
Jack Laurence
JL
Kelly
D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006225:Hand / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Anatomy; Education; Hand