gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: At the Medical University of Graz, medical students (M) and dental students (D) have to successfully complete compulsory study modules. One of these modules covers fundamentals of the musculoskeletal system for medicine as well as for dental medicine. The aim of this study was two fold; to evaluate the students´ interest in the musculoskeletal module and to assess it by subjective means. We hypothesized that medical students were more interested and would rate the musculoskeletal module better than dental students.

Methods: After completion of the module students evaluated the module using standardized forms. The following parameters were defined in both groups: achievement, motivation, general contentment, satisfaction with the virtual medical campus (VMC), contentment with respect to lectures, seminars and internships. The scale was ranging from 1 to 6, whereby 1 had been determined “that’s totally true” and 6 “does not apply at all”. The results of both groups were compared with each other.

Results: In total 47 students (27 M and 20 D) returned their forms. Achievement, motivation and general contentment reached a mean of 1.755 (M) versus 3.125 (D); these results were statistically different. Satisfaction with the VMC was at a mean value of 1.945 (M) versus 4.55 (D). Contentment with lectures had been rated with 1.855 (M) versus 2.365 (D), with seminars 1.675 (M) versus 2.25 (D), and internships with 2.195 (M) versus 2.3 (D).

Discussion: We conclude that students of human medicine do have higher interest and better ratings compared to students of dental medicine as far as the module musculoskeletal system is concerned. Due to the low number of participants these results need to be taken with care; further evaluations are necessary.