Skill Acquisition in Skin Cancer Detection

Previous research has shown that the ability to detect potentially dangerous skin lesions is not improved by viewing a pamphlet describing the characteristic features of such lesions. A different approach to improving this skill was investigated in this study. 100 student recruits were tested to inv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perceptual and motor skills 2010-02, Vol.110 (1), p.277-297
Main Authors: Speelman, Craig, Martin, Katie, Flower, Steven, Simpson, Terry
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attention
Awareness
Carcinoma, Basal Cell - diagnosis
Carcinoma, Basal Cell - psychology
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - diagnosis
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - psychology
Clinical Competence
Dangerous Behavior
Diagnosis, Differential
Discrimination Learning
Disease prevention
Health Education
Humans
Medical research
Melanoma - diagnosis
Melanoma - psychology
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Practice (Psychology)
Reaction Time
Self-Examination - psychology
Skin cancer
Skin Neoplasms - diagnosis
Skin Neoplasms - psychology
Students
Students - psychology
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Summary:Previous research has shown that the ability to detect potentially dangerous skin lesions is not improved by viewing a pamphlet describing the characteristic features of such lesions. A different approach to improving this skill was investigated in this study. 100 student recruits were tested to investigate the effect of practice at distinguishing between dangerous and nondangerous skin lesions. Around 30 minutes of such practice, viewing 360 pictures of skin lesions, provided a significant advantage in making decisions about a target set of dangerous and nondangerous lesions, compared to no practice or practice with a filler task. Viewing a skin cancer pamphlet for 5 min. at the beginning of the experiment made no difference to the speed or accuracy of decisions regarding the test lesions. The results are interpreted as evidence for a form of implicit learning of a skin cancer detection skill, a finding that is consistent with what is known of the nature of expertise in dermatologists. The results also point to the ineffectiveness of pamphlets to engender such expertise in the general public.
ISSN:0031-5125
1558-688X
DOI:10.2466/pms.110.1.277-297