Determination of clinically relevant content for a musculoskeletal anatomy curriculum for physical medicine and rehabilitation residents

To address the need for more clinical anatomy training in residency education, many postgraduate programs have implemented structured anatomy courses into their curriculum. Consensus often does not exist on specific content and level of detail of the content that should be included in such curricula. This article describes the use of the Delphi method to identify clinically relevant content to incorporate in a musculoskeletal anatomy curriculum for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residents. A two round modified Delphi involving PM&R experts was used to establish the curricular content. The anatomical structures and clinical conditions presented to the expert group were compiled using multiple sources: clinical musculoskeletal anatomy cases from the PM&R residency program at the University of Toronto; consultation with PM&R experts; and textbooks. In each round, experts rated the importance of each curricular item to PM&R residency education using a five‐point Likert scale. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was used to determine consensus at the end of each round and agreement scores were used as an outcome measure to determine the content to include in the curriculum. The overall internal consistency in both rounds was 0.99. A total of 37 physiatrists from across Canada participated and the overall response rate over two rounds was 97%. The initial curricular list consisted of 361 items. After the second iteration, the list was reduced by 44%. By using a national consensus method we were able to objectively determine the relevant anatomical structures and clinical musculoskeletal conditions important in daily PM&R practice. Anat Sci Educ 7: 135–143. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

High School Value Climate as Related to Preferential Treatment of Athletes

This paper focuses on the importance of the high school value climate as a mediating variable in the analysis of behavior associated with sport participation. The findings suggest that athletes are accorded preferential treatment in those schools where sport is an important prestige-granting activity. In addition, the findings showed that the athletes were somewhat more conventional than the nonathletes; however, this conventionality was not associated with the school value climate.     

Early field experience: A question of effectiveness

Abstract

This paper offers a historical perspective of field‐based experiences in teacher preparation. The literature review presents information from studies that support the educative value of early field experiences and studies reporting results that do not lend empirical support for endorsing early field experiences.

Based on the information reported in the literature review, the writer offers guidelines for program development designed to increase the likelihood that an early field experience program will have the beneficial results that educators intend. The key issues for program development are: (a) determine the purpose of the experience, (b) determine the administrative feasibility of the experience, and (c) determine the method of evaluation for the experience.

In summary, the writer expresses a need for congruence between the university's teacher education program and the classroom sites for early field experiences. He further states that the goals, methods, and philosophy of university and classroom teachers need to be mutually understood and endorsed.