The VA Women's Musculoskeletal Health Training Program wrapped up last week at the National SimLEARN Center in Orlando, Florida. The course was an intensive review of the anatomy, pathology, examination and management of common musculoskeletal issues with a specific focus on women. GIM Assistant Professor of Medicine, Marisa D'Silva, MD, attended the program and taught in small group settings several of the clinical skills sessions, including physical exam skills and clinical approach for low back, hip, shoulder and knee. She also lectured on hip pathology, and on osteoporosis and bone health.
"This was a pilot program to open up this clinical skills training on a national level..."
"This was a pilot program to open up this clinical skills training on a national level, for primary care providers in VA health care facilities, with focused didactic sessions, individual physical exam training and clinical skills practice," explains D'Silva.
Faculty members came from four sites that had previously directed local training programs, and participants came from almost every Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) in the country.
Dr. D'Silva has been at Duke for over 21 years and is a clinician-educator at both the VA PRIME clinic and the Duke Outpatient Clinic.