GAPS in dermatology education have been spotlighted in preclinical medical students. A team from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, found that there was a disproportionately low representation of skin of colour (SOC) with only 15% diversity in medical school dermatologic curriculum and board study resources, adding to the growing number of studies in this field.
The study was conducted in 91 first- and second-year students who were sent an 18-question survey assessing their ability to identify dermatologic conditions on either White skin (46 students) or SOC (45 students) and their confidence in making assessments. Students performed similarly assessing conditions on White skin (61.73%) and SOC (66.20%). Second-year students outperformed first-year students in diagnoses on White skin but not SOC. The Likert-scale responses indicated a higher level of confidence among students in identifying dermatological conditions on White skin with an average score of 4.05. Students largely agreed that they were more comfortable identifying dermatologic diagnoses on White skin and expressed strongly that their medical education could benefit from increased SOC dermatological resources.
Students were more successful at identifying conditions such as psoriasis and melanoma on white skin, and were better with conditions like neurofibroma and tinea versicolor on SOC. The study highlights ongoing gaps in dermatology education, particularly in diagnosing conditions on SOC, and supports calls for curriculum reform. “We hope that continued publications highlighting these concerns, in addition to work done by advocacy groups such as the SOC Society, will push medical schools, resource companies and the National Board of Medical Examiners to increase the diversity of their curriculum,” the authors concluded.
Reference: Greene A et al. Evaluation of dermatologic diagnostic ability on skin of colour in preclinical medical students. Skin Health Dis. 2024;e425. [Epub ahead of print].
Anaya Malik | AMJ
