How the distinctive cultures of osteopathic and allopathic medical schools affect the careers, perceptions, and institutional efforts of their anatomy faculties: A qualitative case study of two schools

Abstract

Anatomy faculties are integral to basic science instruction in medical schools, particularly given the preponderance of anatomic instruction in the preclinical curriculum. Recent years have witnessed major curricular restructuring and other emerging national trends that pose significant challenges to anatomists. An examination of anatomy faculty perceptions at two philosophically distinct medical schools within this shifting climate provides an indicator of how different institutional characteristics may impact anatomy instruction and other faculty responsibilities. Semistructured interviews of anatomy faculty from a large, well‐established allopathic medical school (Indiana University School of Medicine) and a small, new osteopathic medical school (Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine) were explored using qualitative thematic analysis. Four overarching themes were identified: (1) Institutional philosophies, such as affiliation with osteopathic versus allopathic medicine, have minimal impact on how the anatomical sciences are taught. (2) Differences in anatomy faculty experiences at these two institutions are largely driven by the institution's size and history. There is a disparity between institutions in the relative importance of teaching and research, but an ability to do research is important for both faculties. (3) Anatomy instruction and research agendas are driven by personal philosophies and interests rather than institutional philosophy. (4) Autonomy is highly valued by anatomists at both institutions. All the participants share a devotion to educating future physicians. In fact, this study identified more similarities than differences in these two faculties. Finally, we argue that shared educational resources and research collaborations can improve anatomy education and faculty development at both institutions. Anat Sci Educ 9: 255–264. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

The role of prelaboratory assignments in the improvement of academic performance and enhancement of intrinsic motivation in human cadaveric anatomy

“…In the context of completion of PLAs, there is universal consensus that the provision of choice to students in learning methods is a strong motivator of IM. 43 Hence, considering the preferences of current generation of healthcare students 7,41 it is suggested that the completion of PLAs should be voluntary, though students should be encouraged to complete PLAs on schedule. Therefore, PLAs can provide an autonomy-supportive environment of students that can enhance their intellectual meta-levels of thinking.…”

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“…In the context of completion of PLAs, there is universal consensus that the provision of choice to students in learning methods is a strong motivator of IM. 43 Hence, considering the preferences of current generation of healthcare students 7,41 it is suggested that the completion of PLAs should be voluntary, though students should be encouraged to complete PLAs on schedule. Therefore, PLAs can provide an autonomy-supportive environment of students that can enhance their intellectual meta-levels of thinking.…”

A randomized, controlled study to assess if allopathic-osteopathic collaboration influences stereotypes, interprofessional readiness, and doctor-patient communication

“…Despite a lack of concrete evidence, it is thought that interprofessional collaboration improves patient outcomes by enhancing communication and increasing accessibility to services [ 1 – 3 ]. Numerous studies evaluating collaborative practice/education have been published, but studies to date have largely overlooked collaboration between allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) physicians [ 4 ].…”