The impact of gross anatomy laboratory on first year medical students’ interest in a surgical career

Abstract

This study sought to determine the impact of gross anatomy laboratory (GA) on first year medical students' (M1) interest in a surgical career. Secondary objectives included identifying other influences in M1s' career decision making. This prospective study included surveys before and after GA. All M1s enrolled in GA were invited to participate. Sixty students completed both the pre- and post-test surveys. A 5-point Likert-type scale surveyed participants' interests, specific personality traits, experience during the course of GA, and likelihood of pursuing a surgical career. Statistical analysis included Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and (Polychotomous) Ordinal Logistic Regression Model. Students' desire to work with their hands increased (50 vs. 33.3%) and enjoyment working with instruments and tools similarly increased (50 vs. 41.7%). Likelihood of pursuing a surgical career after gross anatomy increased in 31.7% of students, decreased in 16.7%, and was unchanged in 51.7%. Over 75% of students with a prior interest in surgery and 21% of those who previously felt neutral agreed that they were likely to pursue a career in surgery at the conclusion of the laboratory. Students with a surgeon family member were 0.1976 times as likely to exhibit a positive change in interest (P values 0.024). Gross anatomy may influence up to a third of the class to consider a surgical career, especially those with a prior interest in surgery and those previously feeling ambivalent. Students with a surgeon family member became less likely to enter a surgical career after gross anatomy. Clin. Anat. 29:691-695, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Influence of undergraduate medical education exposure to cadaveric dissection on choice of surgical specialty: a national survey of Canadian surgical residents

“…20 However, UGME anatomy training has also been shown to influence up to 32% of first-year medical students to consider a career in surgery and 17% of first-year medical students to decide against a surgical specialty. 21 Although there is conflicting evidence regarding the optimal timing for UGME anatomy training, the general agreement in the present study with the statement "UGME anatomy training is ineffective" highlights the need for change.…”

A systematic review of the factors affecting choice of surgery as a career

“…[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]80,82,83,85,88 The importance of exposure to surgery early in training is further supported by a study by Sallee and colleagues, 128 which showed that medical student impressions of a specialty form before adequate clinical exposure in that specialty is obtained. These findings, together with ours, suggest that decisions about specialties of interest are formed during the preclerkship years.…”

“…[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] An AHRQ grade of moderate strength was awarded to this body of evidence, with a mean Newcastle-Ottawa score of 6.6. The results from these studies were uniformly positive; following exposure to surgery during the preclinical years, students expressed greater confidence that surgery allows for work-life balance and meaningful change in patients' lives.…”

Creating a Human Gross Anatomy Laboratory: The Experience at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution

“…• Fits well into an integrated curriculum, with the potential to meaningfully incorporate disciplines such as dermatology (Baker et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2018), interventional radiology (DePietro et al, 2017), and pathology (Geldenhuys et al, 2016;Rae et al, 2017). • Garners student interest in varied health-care specialties including surgery (Saberski et al, 2015;Pulcrano et al, 2016). Parenthetically, a survey conducted by Sheikh et al (2016) noted that surgeons selected cadaver/prosection demonstration as the best method (among survey options) for teaching anatomy.…”