Israeli medical faculties' response to the COVID-19 crisis vis-à-vis anatomical education: The cultivation of future academic leadership—A national mixed-methods study
Shanee Mesner Fireizen, Adi Finkelstein, Dina Tsybulsky, Gila Yakov, Assaf Marom
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The COVID-19 crisis created unprecedented conditions for the medical academic system that enable it to showcase the real value of learning approaches in anatomical education. In parallel, the ongoing reassessment of the role of dissection in medical training, given the huge advances in imaging technology and science education, continued. The present study investigates the response of the six Israeli medical faculties to the pandemic vis-à-vis anatomical education. We reached out to medical students studying anatomy at the time of the crisis (N = 311), advanced medical students working as anatomy instructors (N = 55), and deans and heads of anatomy departments (N = 6). Applying a mixed-method approach, we used Likert scale questionnaires and held in-depth interviews with faculty members. Our results indicate that Israeli medical faculties were committed to a dissection-based anatomy curriculum and made substantial efforts to maintain it in the face of health restrictions. Students appreciated these efforts as this was their preferred learning method. Through a phenomenological analysis of interviews, we demonstrate how the crisis opened up a unique prism through which new insights into the debated role of dissection may be gleaned. Our analysis also reveals that anatomy instructors played a pivotal role in the crisis, not only because they carried out faculty policy, but especially because it gave them the opportunity to determine policy and show leadership. The crisis additionally enabled faculties to cultivate their leadership skills. Our research confirms donor body dissection as a mainstay of anatomical education and emphasizes its immeasurable value to the curriculum and future physicians.
期刊介绍:
Anatomical Sciences Education, affiliated with the American Association for Anatomy, serves as an international platform for sharing ideas, innovations, and research related to education in anatomical sciences. Covering gross anatomy, embryology, histology, and neurosciences, the journal addresses education at various levels, including undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, allied health, medical (both allopathic and osteopathic), and dental. It fosters collaboration and discussion in the field of anatomical sciences education.