What should undergraduate medical students know about psoriasis? Involving patients in curriculum development: modified Delphi technique

Abstract

Objective: To identify the content of a psoriasis curriculum for medical students.

Design: Literature review and modified Delphi technique.

Setting: Primary and secondary care in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Subjects: 19 dermatologists (7 teaching hospital consultants; 6 consultants in district general hospitals; 6 registrars); 2 general practitioner senior house officers working in dermatology, 5 dermatology nurses, 7 rheumatologists, 25 general practitioner tutors, and 25 patients with chronic psoriasis.

Main outcome measures: Percentage of agreement by participants to items derived from literature and our existing psoriasis syllabus.

Results: 71 (84.5%) of 84 questionnaires were returned. A 75% level of consensus was reached on key items that focused on the common presentations of psoriasis, impact, management, and communication skills. Students should be aware of the psychosocial impact of psoriasis, examine the skin while showing sensitivity, and be able to explain psoriasis to patients in a way that enables patients to explain the condition to others.

Conclusions: The panels identified the important items for a psoriasis curriculum. The views of patients were particularly helpful, and we encourage educators to involve patients with chronic diseases in developing curriculums in the future. The method and results could be generalised to curriculum development in chronic disease.