Assessment of the opinions and experiences of anatomy educators regarding the distance anatomy education in medical facilities under the effect of COVID-19 in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose Aim of this research is to assess the perceptions and views of the anatomy lecturers (educators) of the medical faculties in Turkey on undergraduate distance anatomy education during the COVID-19. Methods Anatomy educators nationwide were invited to the online questionnaire developed by the authors. Ninety-one anatomy educators participated in the questionnaire. Views of the participants were evaluated by Likert-type questions and open-ended questions. Distance anatomy education experiences of the participants between March and July 2020 were evaluated. Results Participants found face-to-face education more beneficial than distance education courses conducted with video recordings. They also reported that they agreed synchronous lessons were more beneficial than asynchronous lessons. They agreed that time management was a positive result. However, they were concerned about the adverse effects of the interruption of formal anatomy education regarding quality. The experience of distance anatomy education applied during the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the demand for distance theoretical anatomy education supported by video recordings and face-to-face practical anatomy education methods (blended) for the post-pandemic period. Conclusion There is much research focusing on the students regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on anatomy education. The experiences and the suggestions of the anatomy educators are also important. The findings of the current research have revealed the positive approach to distance theoretical anatomy education and face-to-face practical anatomy education methods (blended) for the post-pandemic period.

Students’ perspective on the interactive online anatomy labs during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The combination of asynchronous, recorded demonstration of dissected structures and synchronous teaching and description, with the possibility of real-time dialogue between tutor and student is a quite new teaching modality [ 23 ]. The preference of the participants for a synchronous description and demonstration on cadavers in combination with the greater assimilation of the educational object, resulting from students’ interaction and active engagement in the learning procedure [ 17 , 27 , 32 ], indicates the ONALs development with real-time demonstrations, or even dissections, as the solution to the aforementioned problem.…”

“…Given those special difficulties, a multimodal approach to anatomy teaching is necessary, especially using technological facilities that have been proven beneficial for most students [ 2 ]. However, both anatomists and health professionals agree that “hands-on” anatomy training and contact with cadavers is a prerequisite for the comprehension of the teaching object, and thus, teaching through dissections has remained a prominent position [ 12 , 14 , 23 , 25 , 31 ].…”

The future of anatomy education: Learning from Covid‐19 disruption

“…Publications in the literature in the last two years confirm that a range of changes in anatomical education delivery were implemented and assessed world-wide (Brassett et al, 2020;Longhurst et al, 2020;Pather et al, 2020;Cheng et al, 2021;Harmon et al, 2021;Attardi et al, 2022;Özen et al, 2022). Perceptions, performance, satisfaction and well-being of students in the Covid-19 imposed online curricular environment emerged as a frequent theme for many publications (Cuschieri and Calleja Agius, 2020;Franchi, 2020;Srinivasan, 2020;Harrell et al, 2021;McWatt, 2021).…”