Action-Observation in Fine Motor Learning Applying Neuropsychology Principles to Enhance Academic Teaching in the Field of Rheumatology A Pilot Study.

Background: The subject of fine motor acquisition among adults has been wellstudied in the fields of neurorehabilitation and neuropsychology. Action-based observation among subjects of varying skill sets has been shown to be an effective means of acquiring a new fine motor skill. This study applied these principals to assist postgraduate students in acquiring a new fine motor skill.

Methods: This survey-based study measured postgraduate students'self-rated comfort with motorskill acquisition. Postgraduate students of varying skillswith ultrasonography attended a hands-on conference introducing a novel skill. A survey assessing their self-rated skill acquisition on a Likert scale was administered immediately following the conference and again at 6 months.

Results: All of the postgraduate students said that they agreed or strongly agreed that they could identify the anatomic structures using the techniques discussed immediately following the conference. All of the postgraduate students reported that observing someone else learn a new scanning technique helped them learn the technique. At 6-month follow-up, three out of four respondents continued to either agree or strongly agree with those statements.

Conclusion: This study provides a basis for further research on the efficacy of action-based observation techniquesfor fine motorlearning,suggesting that the technique is efficacious and well received among a small population of adult learners. This could have implications for the introduction of fine motortechniquesin academic medicine. It may be beneficial to cohort postgraduate students of varying skill levels during training, as opposed to stratifying them by postgraduate training year.