Crashing from cadaver to computer: Covid‐driven crisis‐mode pedagogy spawns active online substitute for teaching gross anatomy

Abstract

In early 2020, the Covid-19 crisis forced medical institutions worldwide to convert quickly to online platforms for content delivery. Although many components of medical education were adaptable to that format, anatomical dissection laboratory lost substantial content in that conversion, including features of active student participation, three-dimensional spatial relationships of structures, and the perception of texture, variation, and scale. The present study aimed to develop and assess online anatomy laboratory sessions that sought to preserve benefits of the dissection experience for first-year medical students. The online teaching package was based on a novel form of active videography that emulates eye movement patterns that occur during processes of visual identification, scene analysis, and learning. Using this video-image library of dissected materials, content was presented through asynchronous narrated laboratory demonstrations and synchronous/active video conference sessions and included a novel, video-based assessment tool. Data were obtained using summative assessments and a final course evaluation. Test scores for the online practical examination were significantly improved over those for previous in-person dissection-based examinations, as evidenced by several measures of performance (

The impact of asynchronous online anatomy teaching and smaller learning groups in the anatomy laboratory on medical students’ performance during the Covid‐19 pandemic

“…In the present study, the difference in lecture z ‐scores in the lower median group (50% > laboratory score ≥25%) in the 2019–2020 cohort increased in the midterm scores of the second semester (Table 4 ), suggesting that online learning provided benefits for some medical students from pre‐ Covid‐19 to post‐Covid‐19. This result was similar to several recent studies that documented the advantages of remote learning since the onset of the Covid‐19 pandemic (Pyatt & Sims, 2012 ; Barash, et al, 2021 ; Cheng, et al, 2021 ; Harrell, et al, 2021 ; Zarcone & Saverino, 2022 ). According to these results, teachers could suggest that students with lower median academic performance preferentially adopt online lecture courses to meet the restriction rules in the classroom during the Covid‐19 pandemic.…”

“…Many universities adopted remote learning and online education to teach anatomy to medical students during the Covid‐19 pandemic (Franchi, 2020 ; Longhurst et al, 2020 ; Pather, et al, 2020 ; Srinivasan, 2020 ). Blended learning, comprised of online and traditional teaching, could result in better student outcomes than traditional face‐to‐face teaching in gross anatomy courses (Pyatt & Sims, 2012 ; Green et al, 2018 ; Barash et al, 2021 ; Harrell et al, 2021 ; Zarcone & Saverino, 2022 ). However, replacing traditional gross anatomy teaching with completely remote learning remains controversial due to the lack of interpersonal interaction (Gillett‐Swan, 2017 ; Pather, et al, 2020 ).…”

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).…”

The question of dissection in medical training: Not just “if,” but “when”? A student perspective

“…Given the time and financial costs (McMenamin et al, 2018 ; Chumbley et al, 2021 ) associated with providing dissection opportunities, an informed approach to curricular design is necessitated. This is especially relevant at the present time as institutions around the world navigate the benefits, limitations and financial implications of the recent rapid transition to online learning platforms to deliver anatomy education during the Covid‐19 pandemic (de Carvalho Filho et al, 2021 ; Harrell et al, 2021 ). Understanding at what stage of medical training it is optimal for students to dissect, and the factors that influence this, will ensure that medical schools who choose to use this approach for learning anatomy can strategically integrate it into their program.…”