Rheumatology CME Series

Introduction

Musculoskeletal complaints are very common in the practice of Internal Medicine.  They may reflect overuse or trauma, or be a manifestation of a broad range of musculoskeletal disorders or other systemic diseases.  Learning rheumatological diseases provides HCPs with exposure to common conditions, such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, crystalline diseases, and rheumatoid disease as well as rare and diagnostically elusive conditions, such as vasculitis, spondyloarthropathies, and inflammatory muscle disease.  As these conditions are not always encountered during training, the goal of this CME series is to give the all HCPs an understanding of the pathophysiology and resulting systemic manifestations of connective tissue disorders, with a focus on the following issues: clinical patterns of disease, cost-effective diagnostic evaluation, early identification and treatment of disease to prevent disability and improve quality of life, proficiency in the use of ant-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and cytotoxic drugs; and enhancement of procedural skills, such as arthrocentesis and injection.