Anatomical Sciences Education最新文献

Dissection of bodies provided by donors continues to be utilized as a critical part of medical education. It also represents a rite of passage that socializes students to prepare them for the stress that comes with working in a clinical environment as a medical professional. Just as proper guidance in acquiring technical skills is critical in anatomy education, there is an important need for proper emotional guidance throughout the human dissection process. A pilot curriculum was developed by an interdisciplinary faculty team to emotionally prepare students for their first visit to the anatomy laboratory. Students were first-year foundation premedical students who had expressed an interest in visiting the laboratory. Pre- and post-visit surveys were conducted to explore students' emotional responses to a first visit to the anatomy laboratory and their utilization of coping strategies. The survey findings show an overwhelming favorable feeling in anticipation of the human gross anatomy laboratory visit. About 20% of the students experienced anxiety at the anticipation of the laboratory visit, but only 5.3% experienced anxiety during the visit. The decrease in the number of students experiencing anxiety may be attributed to the interventions introduced before and during the visit. Talking with a close friend was the main coping strategy utilized by 63% of students experiencing fear or anxiety during and after the laboratory visit. The findings from this program evaluation provide a better understanding of student emotional preparedness and utilization of coping strategies, which may help prepare and guide future students for the dissection experience.

Undergraduate introductory human anatomy and human physiology courses are either taught as discipline-specific or integrated anatomy and physiology (A&P) sequences. An institution underwent a curricular revision to change the course approach from discipline-specific Human Anatomy and Human Physiology to an integrated A&P I and II sequence, allowing the unique opportunity to explore the potential role of contextual learning in academic achievement and content retention. Mediation and moderation analysis was used to evaluate lecture examinations, laboratory practical examinations, and anatomical content retention between the different course approaches. Undergraduate students in the integrated A&P I course approach performed significantly better on lecture assessments and had a higher anatomy content retention rate at the end of the year than students enrolled in the standalone Human Anatomy course. The lecture examination averages between Human Physiology and A&P II (the second course in the sequence), as well as the anatomy laboratory practical examinations, were not significantly different between discipline-specific and integrated course approaches. The results suggest contextual learning-providing physiological context to anatomical structures-increases the anatomical content retention and academic achievement overall.

This study assesses the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficacy of a novel asynchronous video-based intervention for teaching respiratory physiology and anatomy to medical students in resource-limited settings. A series of short video lectures on pleural anatomy, pulmonary physiology, and pathophysiology was created using Lightboard and screen capture technology. These were uploaded to YouTube and Google Drive and made available to 1st-3rd year medical students at two Latin American universities for 1 week. Employing a parallel-convergent mixed methods design, we conducted surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pre/post testing for qualitative and quantitative data. Thematic Analysis was used to analyze qualitative data and McNemar's test for quantitative analysis. Seventy-six students participated. The videos' short format, interactivity, and Lightboard style were highly valued for their flexibility, time efficiency, and educational impact. Students recognized their clinical relevance and trusted their content, suggesting potential applicability in similar settings. Despite infrastructure and connectivity challenges, the use of flexible streaming and downloadable options facilitated learning. Survey results indicated high levels of feasibility (99%), appropriateness (95%), and acceptability (95%), with significant knowledge gains observed (37% correct pre-test answers vs. 56% post-test, p < 0.0001). Our findings demonstrate high acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficacy of a targeted asynchronous education centered on short-format videos in resource-limited settings, enabling robust learning despite local barriers. Flexible access is key for overcoming localized barriers. Taking an adaptive, learner-centered approach to content creation and delivery to address constraints was pivotal to success. Our modular videos could serve as versatile models for flexible education in resource-constrained settings.

Reduced hours of instruction are reported within the gross anatomy education literature. Anatomy instruction continues to be challenged with motivating and inspiring learners to value the contribution of gross anatomy knowledge to their career development alongside increased organizational demands for efficiency and effectiveness. To address these demands, this retrospective study sought to understand how the relative timing and amount of gross anatomy instruction were related to examination performance. Undergraduate and graduate students between 2018 and 2022 were assigned to three cohorts determined by enrollment in prosection-based anatomy only (n = 334), concurrent enrollment in prosection- and dissection-based anatomy in the same semester (n = 67), or consecutive enrollment in the courses one year apart (n = 43). Concurrent students had higher prosection-based anatomy examination scores than prosection-only and consecutive students. Consecutively, enrolled students outperformed concurrently enrolled students on the first two dissection examinations but showed no performance differences on the third and fourth dissection examinations. While the results on the timing and presentation of anatomical instruction were inconclusive, the results do support increased instructional time using both prosection and dissection modalities concurrently to improve performance on identification-based gross anatomy examinations.

The use of immersive methodologies is a trend in the educational environment, but their outcomes in the teaching-learning process need to be better understood. This study aimed to assess the impact of the educational environment on learning equine distal limb ultrasonography, comparing immersive classroom, traditional classroom, and virtual classroom. A total of 153 veterinary medicine students from the first to the third semester participated in this study. The students were divided into four groups: traditional (n = 22), immersive (n = 100), online (n = 31), and traditional-immersive (n = 15). The students completed a questionnaire before and immediately after the class. The online group had a lower average gain in correct answers compared to the others (p < 0.01). Regarding student perception, it was observed that the virtual group had the lowest satisfaction score (p < 0.001), and students in the immersive and online environments were more satisfied with the resources used compared to the traditional classroom (p = 0.01). Concluding, in the present study students showed a greater interest in environments associated with technology, and that in-person modalities resulted in significantly superior learning outcomes compared to online ones.

Assessment of learners in the anatomical sciences is a complex task as it not only tests students' fact knowledge, but also the analysis of visual information. Sometimes, novice histology learners must acquire image recognition skills of microscopic structures in a short time frame. This paper describes a strategy of offering first year dental students at the University of Michigan a short, non-grade contributing, formative assessment quiz in order to better prepare them for a high-stakes, final summative histology examination. Data collected over 7 years indicate that students, who made use of this formative assessment opportunity, performed significantly better in their summative examination than students, who did not. Especially early practice quiz users profited most. Students, who used the practice quiz until they achieved a perfect score, also had statistically higher final examination scores. Students, who did not use the practice quiz, had a significantly lower cumulative D1-year Grade Point Average (D1-GPA) than students, who did, indicating that academically weaker students often underuse supporting learning resources. In general, scores from the Dental Admission Test (DAT) were weak predictors of learning success in the DENT 510 histology course. In contrast, the D1-GPA values had a medium strength positive correlation with final histology examination scores. The major problem that was encountered with this practice quiz strategy was that many students waited until close to the day of the final examination before taking advantage of this feedback opportunity, thereby reducing its potential benefit for improving their overall learning strategy for histology.

Dental anatomy education for dental technology students should be developed in alignment with digital dental laboratory practices. We hypothesized that a virtually assisted sketching-based dental anatomy teaching module could improve students' acquisition of skills essential for digital restoration design. The second-year dental technology curriculum included a novel virtual technology-assisted sketching-based module for dental anatomy education. Pre- and post-course assessments evaluated students' skill sets and knowledge bases. Computer-aided design (CAD) scores were analyzed after one year to assess how the skills students developed through this module impacted their subsequent CAD performance. Participants who undertook the dental sketching-based teaching module demonstrated significantly improved theoretical knowledge of dental anatomy, dental aesthetic perception, and spatial reasoning skills. A partial least squares structural equation model indicated that the positive effects of this module on subsequent CAD performance were indirectly mediated by dental aesthetic perception, spatial reasoning, and practice time. A virtually assisted sketching-based dental anatomy teaching module significantly improved students' acquisition of skills and knowledge and positively mediated dental technology students' CAD performance.