Peer teaching in paediatrics - medical students as learners and teachers on a paediatric course.

Background: Peer assisted learning is known as an effective educational strategy in medical teaching. We established a peer assisted teaching program by student tutors with a focus on clinical competencies for students during their practical training on paediatric wards. It was the purpose of this study to investigate the effects of a clinical skills training by tutors, residents and consultants on students evaluations of the teaching quality and the effects of a peer teaching program on self assessed clinical competencies by the students.

Forearm length - a new tool to standardize bone parameters of the forearm measured with peripheral quantitative computed tomography in individuals with disproportional growth of forearm length and body height.

Aim: To investigate the relationship of forearm length (FL) or height to bone parameters of the forearm of a normal pediatric population in comparison to individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).

Methods: Data on FL, height and peripheral quantitative computed tomography measurements of the forearm were collected from participants of the DONALD study (140 males and 156 females; age 5-19 years) and from 73 patients with OI (53 males; mean age +/- SD: 11.7 +/- 3.