How much anatomy is enough?

710

814

Anatomy has historically been a cornerstone in medical education regardless of nation or specialty. Until recently, dissection and didactic lectures were its sole pedagogy. Teaching methodology has been revolutionized with more reliance on models, imaging, simulation, and the Internet to further consolidate and enhance the learning experience. Moreover, modern medical curricula are giving less importance to anatomy education and to the acknowledged value of dissection. Universities have even abandoned dissection completely in favor of user-friendly multimedia, alternative teaching approaches, and newly defined priorities in clinical practice. Anatomy curriculum is undergoing international reformation but the current framework lacks uniformity among institutions. Optimal learning content can be categorized into the following modalities: (1) dissection/prosection, (2) interactive multimedia, (3) procedural anatomy, (4) surface and clinical anatomy, and (5) imaging. The importance of multimodal teaching, with examples suggested in this article, has been widely recognized and assessed. Nevertheless, there are still ongoing limitations in anatomy teaching. Substantial problems consist of diminished allotted dissection time and the number of qualified anatomy instructors, which will eventually deteriorate the quality of education. Alternative resources and strategies are discussed in an attempt to tackle these genuine concerns. The challenges are to reinstate more effective teaching and learning tools while maintaining the beneficial values of orthodox dissection. The UK has a reputable medical education but its quality could be improved by observing international frameworks. The heavy penalty of not concentrating on sufficient anatomy education will inevitably lead to incompetent anatomists and healthcare professionals, leaving patients to face dire repercussions. Anat Sci Educ 3:83-93, 2010.

Section: Virtual Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The anatomy of anatomy: A review for its modernization

Sugand

Abrahams

Khurana

2010

710

814

“…Our study results suggest that students' perceptions of gaining professional competencies may influence their evaluation of course value, over and above the acquisition of anatomical knowledge. In the context of future curriculum planning, it might be necessary to provide not only sufficient anatomical know-how (Bergman et al, 2008;Fitzgerald et al, 2008) but also professionalism training. The aforementioned professional competencies are qualities our students hope to gain during their studies (Skiles, 2005), and we as faculty are responsible for making these competencies part of our curricula (Lachman and Pawlina, 2006;Slotnick and Hilton, 2006).…”

Section: Professional Competenciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gross anatomy course: An analysis of its importance

Böckers

Jerg-Bretzke

Lamp

et al. 2010

149

183

The gross anatomy dissection course is a cost-intensive piece of undergraduate medical education that students and professionals alike describe as very important within the overall medical curriculum. We sought to understand more explicitly students' valuation of gross anatomy as an ''important'' course and so developed a quantitative longitudinal questionnaire. Medical students (n 5 124) enrolled in the winter term 2006/2007 gross anatomy course at the Ulm University Faculty of Medicine were surveyed anonymously prior to, in the middle of, and at the end of the dissection course. Subgroups of students expressing rising or falling opinions of course value were identified and correlated with student opinions about the course's ability to convey professional competencies. Fivepoint Likert scales were used for each survey item, which included such standardized instruments as the NeoFFI, BSI, and FBM. The study confirmed that medical students believe dissection to be valuable. Students indicated that participation in the course facilitated acquisition of anatomy knowledge as well as skills related to teamwork, coping with stress, and, to a lesser extent, time management. Students also noted that they developed less empathy than expected beforehand. Significant subgroup differences were observed relative to the competencies of teamwork, stress coping strategies, and empathy, as well as in students' stress levels associated with having to take a dissection course. Our study builds on previous work that has shown dissection courses help students develop professional competencies. The increase in professionalism might be a reason for the generally high value students place on the gross anatomy dissection course, Anat Sci Educ 3:3-11, 2010.

“…Anatomy instruction in clinical education is confronted with three challenges: first, the integration of basic science with clinical cases (AAMC-HHMI, 2009); second, the general need to shorten formal anatomy instruction to allow for new content to be added to the school-wide curriculum (Drake et al, 2002;Heylings, 2002;Drake et al, 2009;Gregory et al, 2009), while addressing the concern that medical students were ill-prepared in anatomy when entering clerkships and residency programs (Collins et al, 1994;Gordinier et al, 1995;Cottam, 1999;DiCaprio et al, 2003;Prince et al, 2005;Waterston and Stewart, 2005;Fitzgerald et al, 2008); and third, the value of dissection versus, technology-supported alternatives (Latman and Lanier, 2001;Heylings, 2002;McMillen et al, 2004;Granger et al, 2006;Trelease, 2006;Granger and Calleson, 2007;Winkelmann, 2007;Bergman et al, 2008;Trelease, 2008). These challenges have been faced with varying success by a number of medical schools that experimented with the design of their anatomy course .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative anatomy course

Rizzolo

Rando

O’Brien

et al. 2010

100

Starting in 2004, a medical school gross anatomy course faced with a 30% cut in hours went through an extensive redesign, which transformed a traditional dissection course into a course with a clinical focus, learning societies, and extensive on-line learning support. Built into the redesign process was an extensive and ongoing assessment process, which included student focus groups, faculty development, surveys, and examinations. These assessments were used formatively, to enhance the course from year to year, and summatively, to determine how well the course was meeting the new learning objectives. The assessments from focus groups and faculty development prompted changes in support structures provided to students and the training and preparation of faculty. Survey results showed that, after student satisfaction declined the first year, satisfaction increased steadily through the fourth iteration as the course gained acceptance by students and faculty alike. There was a corresponding increase in the performance of students on course examinations. An additional examination given to students one and a half and three years after their anatomy course ended demonstrated the redesigned course's long-term effectiveness for retaining anatomical knowledge and applying it to clinical cases. Compared to students who took the original course, students who took the shorter, more clinical course performed as well, or better, on each section of the examination. We attribute these positive results to the innovative course design and to the changes made based on our formative assessment program. Anat Sci Educ 3: 109-120, 2010.