Anatomical Sciences Education最新文献

Histology requires visual literacy, which encompasses the ability to interpret, analyze, and create meaningful representations of microscopic structures. Learning by drawing enhances histological knowledge retention by reinforcing spatial awareness and pattern recognition. This study examines whether incorporating HistoSketch, a drawing game similar to Pictionary, increased drawing-based study behaviors among post-baccalaureate students enrolled in a graduate-level histology course. HistoSketch adapts the traditional board game's format by having participants draw histological structures, cellular processes, or clinical correlations while teammates attempt to identify them. The serious game was offered as an optional review session before two exams. Participants completed pre- and post-game questionnaires assessing study behaviors, attitudes toward drawing, and perceptions of the game's effectiveness. Scalar responses were analyzed quantitatively using paired t-tests, and free-text responses were analyzed using content analysis. Pre-game questionnaires indicated that most participants did not initially favor drawing as a study strategy. Post-game questionnaires revealed that participants perceived HistoSketch as helpful for identifying knowledge gaps (100%) and enhancing histology understanding (92%). While some participants planned to integrate drawing into their study strategies, others remained hesitant despite recognizing its utility. Our findings suggest that drawing-based games can enhance engagement and motivation in histology education and reinforce the importance of visual literacy skills.

Active learning strategies enhance medical education by fostering self-directed learning, communication, and problem-solving skills. The paper puzzle, a game-based learning approach, provides an engaging way to reinforce anatomical knowledge and promote collaboration. This study assessed its impact on student performance and perceptions in clinical anatomy, comparing it to PowerPoint-based imaging reviews and evaluating the role of Near Peer Teachers (NPTs). A prospective, longitudinal, quasi-experimental study with a mixed-methods approach was conducted on first-year medical students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course. Surveys using a Likert scale assessed student and NPT perceptions, while focus groups and interviews provided qualitative insights. Thematic analysis identified key themes related to engagement, knowledge reinforcement, and effectiveness. A total of 907 medical students and 30 NPTs completed a survey, while 75 students and 10 NPTs participated in the qualitative phase. Students perceived the paper puzzle as an engaging and interactive review tool that reduced stress, increased involvement, and enhanced knowledge retrieval through collaboration and a structured gameplay loop. They also valued the emotional impact on learning. NPTs reported benefits for student motivation and teamwork but noted that time constraints limited content coverage. The activity's effectiveness was highly dependent on the NPT's facilitation, emphasizing the need for structured implementation. Findings suggested that game-based learning strategies like the paper puzzle can improve motivation, teamwork, and content retrieving in anatomy education when carefully designed and effectively executed by NPTs.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an important skill for healthcare professionals. However, adding POCUS training to medical education can be difficult because ultrasound simulators can be expensive. This study assessed whether an interactive, PowerPoint-based computer tool could be a valid alternative to an entry-level ultrasound simulator for teaching medical students how to perform thoracic and abdominal ultrasounds. This randomized controlled equivalence trial employed a two-arm, multi-station design involving 455 third-year medical students participating in an “Approach to Ultrasound” internship. Students underwent different training methodologies, including simulation-based sessions and hands-on practice with healthy volunteers, utilizing either a traditional ultrasound simulator or an interactive PowerPoint-based application designed to simulate ultrasound scenarios. Skills in image optimization (“OSAUS score in Healthy Volunteer”) and pathology recognition (“Recognizing Pathologic score”) were evaluated pre-and post-training. The margin for confirming the equivalence analysis was set at 0.5 points for the primary outcome. 408 students completed the training. Both groups improved significantly after training, with mean OSAUS scores increasing by more than 1.9 points and pathology recognition scores increasing by over 1.5 points. Differences between the two groups were minimal (OSAUS: 0.06 points; pathology recognition: 0.02 points) and within the equivalence margin, showing that the PC-based tool was as effective as the simulator. Simulation-based internships are essential to medical education, providing innovative and effective learning strategies for developing ultrasound skills. Exploring new tools, such as the PC-based solution tested in this study, is essential to making this method more accessible, especially in resource-limited settings.

Sharp contrasts exist between recent examples of public dissection. This includes for-profit public dissections and not-for-profit, consented dissection and documentation. All have frequently become conflated and met with concern by the anatomical community. However, historically, anatomy and human tissue were accessible to all, as public dissections, in museums, and as curated exhibits. Changing societal values in response to criminal activities led to regulations that restricted access to human remains, reserving it to those privileged with training in the field of medicine. These protections of deceased humans, while vital, have unintentionally limited public engagement and potentially spurred ethically dubious practices. Now, public desire for anatomical understanding clashes with professional responsibilities to uphold dignity, respect, and consent. Recent for-profit public autopsies ostensibly aim to educate but also raise questions about commodification and consent. This article argues that the ethical acceptability of public dissection and display hinges not on the acts themselves but on adherence to informed consent, respect for human dignity, and transparent processes. While appeals to public good (e.g., science or education) are common justifications, they must be balanced against the rights of the deceased and their communities. As anatomists, at a transformational period, we must understand the spectrum of reactions and develop better guidelines to meet both public and professional needs. In the US and UK, responsibility often falls to the anatomy community. In an attempt to uphold “best practices,” has the community, unintentionally, closed the gate on public knowledge, and unintentionally, precipitated egregious ethical failures?

Impostor syndrome is particularly prevalent among high-achieving individuals, making medical students a prime target for this condition. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of impostor syndrome among medical students in Turkiye and to examine the associated demographic characteristics. Additionally, by investigating the relationship between impostor syndrome and anatomical self-efficacy, this study aimed to explore how impostor syndrome impacts the anatomical learning process of medical students. At the University of Health Sciences Medical Faculty, a randomly selected cohort of students from the second to sixth years was administered the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) and the Anatomy Self-Efficacy Perception Scale alongside questions about their demographic characteristics. The final study included 121 women and 76 men. 43.7% of the participants were identified as having significant or intense impostor syndrome (SIF). Among students with low or very low anatomical self-efficacy, 71.4% exhibited SIF, 28.6% had moderate impostor experiences (MIE), and none displayed few impostor characteristics (FIC). Further analysis revealed that among students with high anatomical self-efficacy, FIC, MIE, and SIF rates were 31.2%, 50%, and 18.8%, respectively (p < 0.05). This study examined previously unstudied medical students, despite their likelihood of being targeted by impostor syndrome. The findings suggest that the possibility of experiencing impostor syndrome increases with the prevalence of low anatomical self-efficacy. However, moderate or high self-efficacy students are not entirely exempt from impostor feelings.

Neuroanatomy education has evolved and improved over the years, driven by advances in technology that have led to the development of innovative interactive digital and immersive learning resources. While neuroanatomy educators have been keeping pace with and harnessing these technology advances, many medical students still struggle to apply their basic neuroanatomy knowledge in a clinical context. Furthermore, the effectiveness of multimedia resources in improving medical students' understanding of structural and functional neuroanatomy has received limited attention. A systematic review was conducted to document neuroanatomy multimedia resources that were designed for pre-clinical medical students and assessed their effectiveness in improving medical students' understanding of structural and functional neuroanatomy. Twenty-nine articles were eligible to address the study objective and were appraised according to PRISMA-P guidelines. This review concluded that neuroanatomy multimedia resources are primarily used as supplementary learning tools. However, due to a lack of robust evidence, no definitive conclusions can be made about their effectiveness in enhancing students' understanding of neuroanatomy. Nevertheless, this systematic review found that most neuroanatomy multimedia resources are effective in supporting students' understanding of structural neuroanatomy but less so for functional and clinical neuroanatomy. Additionally, static multimedia elements were more prevalent than dynamic ones. Moving forward, the thoughtful and informed use of multimedia elements could help establish resources that better integrate structural and functional neuroanatomy with their clinical and real-life applications, ultimately bridging the gap between neuroanatomy and clinical neurology.

Narrative inquiry (NI) is a rich methodological approach centered around the analysis of stories. While NI has great value within health professions education research, it may be overwhelming for novice researchers (or those new to NI) to employ in practice. This article draws from the first author's doctoral study experiences alongside the supervisors (i.e., co-authors). By highlighting our decision-making processes, we aim to encourage researchers to consider using NI within their research contexts. This work also illustrates the value of NI within health professions education research. We discuss the main challenges we faced when using NI including the diversity of NI conceptualizations, the different definitions of a story, and the multitude of possibilities to approach data analysis. We then outline the approach we took to analyze narrative data (re-storying, narrative synthesis, and thematic analysis) and describe the process used to visually represent the data as journey maps, inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's "Cinderella" story. In doing so, we seek to demonstrate the potential for NI approaches to enrich the diversity, breadth, and depth of health professions education research and, by extension, influence educational practice.

Novice faculty mentors often struggle with the transition from mentee to mentor. Although they may face similar challenges, each mentor's experience and journey of professional identity formation is unique, influenced by their background, experiences, relationships, and context. This autoethnographic study describes my personal experiences as a first-year faculty mentor in medical education, including the challenges I encountered, lessons I learned, and recommendations I have for novice faculty mentors in similar situations. Between January and August 2024, I recorded a series of reflective audio diaries after mentor-mentee project meetings. Each audio diary followed a semi-structured format and included my description of events, critical reflections, and mentoring plans. I then performed reflexive thematic analysis on the audio diaries using both deductive codes based on Transformative Learning Theory and inductive codes derived from the collected data. Through this analysis, I generated the overarching theme of The Balancing Act, in which faculty mentors must constantly balance an ever-shifting collection of competing factors in their mentoring relationships (e.g., time, effort, contributions, and expectations). This theme also included five sub-themes: (i) Balancing Project Contributions, (ii) Balancing Time and Obligations, (iii) Balancing Oversight and Autonomy, (iv) Shifting the Balance, and (v) Communicating the Balance. Although I found The Balancing Act challenging to achieve in my first year, clear and consistent communication greatly reduced the difficulty. With continued practice and reflection, I believe my skills in navigating The Balancing Act will improve further, allowing me to support mentees more effectively.

The popularity of escape rooms as a teaching tool in medical education has grown in recent years due to their ability to increase knowledge, self-confidence, and promote team-based skills. To increase efficacy in learning head and neck anatomy, a virtual escape room was built and employed as a review with a Health Professions Anatomy course. The concept was that students were trapped within the brain and had to determine the correct cranial nerve exit. One hundred thirty-nine students participated in a pre-post single-arm pilot. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) in the overall pretest score (55.08%) compared with the posttest (70.17%). On the post-activity survey, 82.1% of students agreed/strongly agreed that the activity was a productive use of time; 90.5% thought it was an effective team-building activity; 96.8% thought it encouraged the use of communication and collaborative skills; 66.32% felt more confident about the material after the activity; 92.6% said it helped expose gaps in knowledge; and 75.8% planned to play the escape room again as a review for their exam. Overall, the use of a virtual escape room was an effective mechanism to increase students' knowledge and confidence related to anatomy and is an active learning strategy that encourages teamwork and communication skills.

Game-based learning research in the area of medical education has increased drastically in the last 10 years. It has become an area of interest because adding games to educational scenarios has been shown to increase engagement and motivation as well as improve academic outcomes for students. There are still gaps within this research, as prior investigations have not had control groups, assessed knowledge gain, or assessed motivation using a validated survey. The research described in this article has compared a digital escape room game to a timed PowerPoint review method with individual or team participation and the effect on short-term knowledge and motivation. The authors hypothesized that students who participate in the game review session or a session with team participation will have increased motivation and short-term knowledge compared to those in a traditional review session or participating alone. The results of this study suggest that an effective way to gamify a review session would be to offer a digital escape room game that allows for team participation, as this combination showed an increase in short-term knowledge, motivation, and demonstrated greater enjoyment by the participants. When used in this way, the benefits of gamified learning can be maximized by anatomical educators.