The future of gross anatomy teaching

Abstract

A survey of U.S. departments of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry shows that 39% of the respondent anatomy departments reported declines in the numbers of graduate students taking the human gross anatomy course. Similarly, 42% of the departments reported decreases in the numbers of graduate students teaching human gross anatomy. These decreases were greater in anatomy than in physiology and in biochemistry. The percentages of departments reporting increases in students taking or teaching their courses was 6% for human gross anatomy and 0% to 19% for physiology and biochemistry courses. To reverse this trend the establishment of specific programs for the training of gross anatomy teachers is advocated. These new teachers will be available as the need for them is increasingly recognized in the future.

Ultrasound simulator‐assisted teaching of cardiac anatomy to preclinical anatomy students: A pilot randomized trial of a three‐hour learning exposure

“…We do not propose the ultrasound simulator as a substitute for cadaver dissection and prosection, but suggest it can provide a useful additive learning tool for students, especially for the significant proportion who experience difficulties with cadavers (such as a fear of death) or the dissecting room environment, which may be correlated to poor academic performance (Skidmore, ). The simulator may also be useful for students when the dissecting room is unavailable from constraints in teaching or availability of staff, a problem that may increase in the future with a declining rate of those seeking careers in teaching anatomy (Malamed and Seiden, ). All non‐dissection laboratory sessions at University of Melbourne are run in a workshop format with small student groups rotating through “stations” that are variably resourced with wet specimens, bones, body paints and radiographs and staffed by anatomists, surgical trainees or science graduates with a major in human structure and function.…”

Anatomy 1999-2000: the curriculum, who teaches it and how?

“…Other part‐time teachers, who are often retired clinicians or senior clinicians nearing retirement, or in some cases volunteers looking for a change from normal clinical practice, can provide an excellent source of experience to enthuse the undergraduate student. However, the wisdom of relying so heavily on part‐time rather than full‐time staff for curricular delivery is called into question, along with the related issue of who should teach anatomy 15 . In the current UK climate, the very strong emphasis on achieving research targets and the distinctly unattractive salary structure for anyone with a clinical qualification mean that it is unlikely that institutions will employ more gross anatomists to deliver core teaching.…”

Anatomy teaching for medical undergraduates: General practice as a guideline? The brain

“…As a result of this restriction, numerous attempts have been made to adapt the organization and occasionally the content to these altered circumstances (Weddel, 1976;Coupland, 1978;Fitzgerald, 1992;Educational Affairs Committee, 1996). However, in spite of such attempts, the need for teaching gross anatomy during medical training is still-and even increasingly-contested (Pabst, 1993;Malamed and Seiden, 1995). Briefly, two extreme standpoints can be recognized: one adopted by some pure gross anatomists who feel their existence threatened even by the idea of any reduction in their field, and one by some morphologists exclusively interested in cellular biology, who consider that classical anatomy is of no interest, since it has long been exhausted as a field for research.…”