Exploring Medical Student Perceptions On Soft Tissue Orthopaedics

Description

Julian Aqualina, a medical student at UCL, discusses the significant issue of soft tissue orthopedics, revealing that a staggering one in four emergency department presentations are related to trauma and orthopedics. He provides data illustrating that in 2020, over 1.4 million entries were recorded for soft tissue sprains and muscle injuries, marking them as one of the top ten emergency diagnoses that year. Despite these high numbers, Aqualina emphasizes that trauma and orthopedics are underrepresented in undergraduate medical education, with only one in five medical schools dedicating more than 15 days to the subject.



Julian further explores medical students' preparedness in this field, sharing insights from an online orthopedic conference centered on soft tissue orthopedics, which attracted participants both nationally and internationally. Attendees were asked through a questionnaire about their feelings of preparedness following their T&O rotations. Alarmingly, over 75% reported a lack of preparedness for their foundation years, and 86% confessed they did not have a clear understanding of soft tissue orthopedics.



His findings show a disinterest in soft tissue orthopedics among students, with only a minority expressing interest in pursuing it as a career, and many noting its absence in their curriculum. Aqualina concludes with a call to action for a comprehensive review of the undergraduate orthopedic syllabus, advocating for increased emphasis on soft tissue orthopedics due to its prevalence in emergency cases.

DOI: 10.1302/3114-230372

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