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The Importance of Dermatology Education During Osteopathic Preclerkship Curriculum
Tan, V. [1]
Schukow, C. [2]
Vitale, V. [1]
Restini, C. [3]

Journal: Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Date: 2021/12, 121(12):Pages: A42-A43. doi: Subito , type of study: cross sectional study


Keywords:

cross sectional study [842]
curriculum [291]
dermatology [18]
medical students [647]
osteopathic medicine [2025]
USA [1656]

Abstract:

Context: Osteopathic physicians should be educated on the differences between non-emergent and emergent dermatological conditions so they can continue to provide efficient, quality patient care, regardless of their specialty. Only 40% of Osteopathic medical schools have a sole dermatology course offered during their pre-clerkship education. This is the first study to investigate the importance of dermatology education in the Osteopathic pre-clerkship curriculum from medical students’ perspectives. Objective: We hypothesize that student’s perception of the importance of dermatology education would highlight the need for a single dermatology course during the Osteopathic pre-clerkship curriculum to develop well-rounded Osteopathic physicians.1 This study’s specific aim and overall purpose are to identify the importance of dermatology education relative to other systems courses in the Osteopathic pre-clerkship curriculum from medical students’ perspectives. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM) during the months of June and July of 2021. Medical students from every class (2022-2025) were emailed an invitation to volunteer to participate in the study. Google Forms was utilized as a platform to retrieve answers from participants. The study was completely voluntary and included an anonymous survey of 19 multiple-choice questions. Participants were made aware that their responses were anonymous and had no impact on their academic performance. MSU IRB approval: STUDY00006234. No personal identifying information was collected, and participation was strictly voluntary. Data was collected from the survey via a 5-point question scale (e.g., “1” resembling lower/lowest importance while “5” resembles greater/greatest importance). The results were analyzed via statistical tests (Pearson’s Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test). These tests were performed with GraphPad Prism 5.0 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA). This study presents negligible risks to the participants. As the human body is a functional unit, the absence of in-depth dermatological understanding can pose consequences for future Osteopathic physicians when treating patients, potentially resulting in physical, mental, and spiritual harm.2 Only 40% of Osteopathic medical schools have a sole dermatology course during pre-clerkship education.3 Dermatology education is extremely limited in both pre-clerkship and clerkship training, with only a small percentage of institutions offering required dermatology courses and rotations.4 This poses a concerning lack regarding dermatology education, as the integumentary system is the largest organ of the body and can suggest underlying medical conditions of other organ systems.1,5 Results: A sample of 191 MSUCOM students (n=191) have completed the survey. 63 (33%) were first-years (OMS-I) of the Class of 2025, 41 (21.5%) were OMS-II of the Class of 2024, 44 (23%) were OMS-III of the Class of 2023, and 43 (22.5%) were OMS-IV of the Class of 2022. Compared to other pre-clerkship course subjects such as neurology, endocrinology, and gastroenterology, 104 (54.5%), 110 (57.6%), and 112 (58.6%) MSUCOM students, respectively, rated dermatology of equal importance (i.e., 3/5). However, when asked about the value of having a sole dermatology course in pre-clerkship Osteopathic curriculum, 107 (56%) MSUCOM students responded with “highly valuable“ (i.e., 5/5). Chi-square test demonstrated no difference (P>0.05) between the proportion of the students’ rate for the importance of dermatology only vs. derm and the other course systems. Conclusion: There is a questionable absence of dedicated dermatology education in the Osteopathic pre-clerkship curriculum in the United States. This is the first study investigating the importance of dermatology education relative to other systems courses in the Osteopathic pre-clerkship curriculum from medical students’ perspectives. Our results demonstrate that dermatology education is valued by over 50% of the students with equal importance to the other course systems, which suggests implementation of a dedicated integumentary course in pre-clerkship curriculum would be well-received. The results gathered from our study support our hypothesis that medical students view dermatology as crucial towards their Osteopathic medical education so that they would be better trained to offer quality patient care as practicing physicians.Though we are limited to just MSUCOM medical students, our study is a foundational launching point to bring attention to the hole in our training that could negatively impact patients with undiagnosed/misdiagnosed dermatological conditions. As future Osteopathic physicians, we must practice the Osteopathic tenants and ensure that we are treating the patient as a whole.5 We hope this study encourages the implementation of dedicated dermatology education for all medical student’s training. Further studies can be done to further generalize to the overall Osteopathic medical community as a whole.

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