According to a report from Healio, internal medicine residents may feel uncomfortable diagnosing and managing rheumatologic diseases as a result of gaps in education. In a survey published by He et al in BMC Medical Education, researchers asked 39 internal medicine residents as well as 11 rheumatology attendings and fellows at the University of Chicago to rank 10 rheumatic conditions—including crystalline arthropathies, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, spondyloarthropathies, vasculitis, and antinuclear antibody–associated diseases—in their specialty from least to most important to learn during their internal medicine residency. In addition, the researchers asked the participants to rate their confidence levels and share their preferred learning methods for each condition. The participants reported that the most important rheumatologic topics for internal medicine residents to learn were ordering and interpreting autoimmune serologies and how to properly conduct musculoskeletal exams; and the preferred method for learning was bedside teaching in an inpatient setting. “[The topics identified] by residents … highlight opportunities to improve existing curricula … [and] help guide more effective inpatient and outpatient teaching strategies in rheumatology,” the researchers concluded.
July 20, 2023