Musculoskeletal problem? Who can help?

If you have a musculoskeletal problem be sure to see a practitioner with an adequate level of training—there's a lot more more to back, knee, shoulder and other problems than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This commentary just published in the journal Academic Medicine makes it clear that musculoskeletal problems are outside the realm of expertise of many practitioners:

"Medical schools in the United States have continued to demonstrate deficiencies in musculoskeletal education."

The authors advance their argument for maintaining human dissection in the anatomy curriculum while noting...

"A cross-sectional survey at Harvard in 2004 found that students lacked clinical confidence in dealing with the musculoskeletal system. In addition, only one quarter of the graduating class of medical students passed a nationally validated exam in basic musculoskeletal competency."

On a personal note, the anatomy (human dissection) lab was one of the high points (scientifically and philosophically) of my formal schooling.