Objective Students commonly perceive gross anatomy lectures as difficult because they contain complex information that requires three-dimensional visualisation in order to be understood. Without prior preparation, a gross anatomy topic expounded via lecture can be cognitively challenging. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the impact of a pre-lecture activity in the form of viewing a video on students' lecture comprehension. Method A quasi-experimental study was conducted using 254 first-year medical students with no prior exposure to the lecture topic during the 2016/17 and 2017/18 academic sessions. The students from each batch were divided into two groups and exposed to different video material. Group A watched an action movie, while Group B watched an educational video related to the lecture topic. After 15 min, both groups attended a lecture on the gross anatomy of the heart, which was delivered by a qualified anatomist. At the end of the lecture, their understanding of the material was measured through a post-lecture test using ten vetted multiple choice true/false questions. Results Group B's test scores were found to be significantly higher than Group A's (p > 0.001, t-stats [df] = −4.21 [252]). Conclusion This study concluded that the pre-lecture activity had successfully provided the students with some prior knowledge of the subject before they attended the lecture sessions. This finding was aligned with cognitive load theory, which describes a reduction in learners' cognitive load when prior knowledge is stimulated.

The virtual microscope has been employed as an adjunct tool to teach optical microscopy for histology learning in medical schools. However, there is no reliable evidence in the literature that virtual and optical microscopy impacts students’ learning. This study focuses on comparing two different methods in learning histology in Universiti Sains Malaysia, namely virtual microscopy and optical microscopy, with regard to medical students’ knowledge acquisition and satisfaction levels. A total number of 120 medical students, consisting of 53 first-year and 67 second-year students, were recruited. The students were divided into virtual microscopy and optical microscopy groups. During the one-day intervention, all students attended a pre-requisite lecture on “Histology of the Eye”, a slide demonstration and a hands-on session using a designated microscope. Students’ knowledge acquisition was evaluated through a pre- and post-practical evaluation and their satisfaction level on learning histology using respective learning tools was measured. The study revealed that the optical and virtual microscopy groups showed significant improvement from the pre- to post-practical tests scores with p < 0.001, respectively. However, the mean increment was higher in virtual microscopy (38.51%) than in optical microscopy (35.08%). Furthermore, the virtual microscopy group had a significantly higher satisfaction score towards the learning tool than the optical microscopy group, p = 0.008. The knowledge acquisition of the virtual microscopy group was equal to the optical microscopy group as they were shown to have a similar improvement in the test scores, comprehension level and learning ability. However, students were nonetheless satisfied with the usage of virtual microscopy as a learning tool.

The single-best answer (SBA) question is popularly used in medical education assessment. Writing an SBA which assesses higher order thinking skills (HOTS) is daunting for newcomers as it requires familiarity with learning outcomes (LOs). This guide provides steps to create LOs for HOTS, introduces the SBA, its parts and how the parts relate to the LO. It then provides steps to convert the LO into an SBA. Examples from anatomy, emergency medicine and medical education are provided.

Anatomy literacy among the medical community and general public appears to be declining, so the demand to create awareness of the importance of anatomy knowledge is increasing. The World Anatomy Day (WAD) celebration was launched in 2019 to acknowledge and advertise the importance of anatomy knowledge in the medical field. The Department of Anatomy in the School of Medical Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia took the initiative by organising WAD events before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 restrictions, WAD had been celebrated as a live event by the lecturers and students who were gathered at the Anatomy Museum. During the pandemic, however, the event was hosted via an online platform. This commentary describes the benefits and challenges of this outreach for the stakeholders of anatomy education and the implications of the WAD celebration on anatomical sciences education.

In the current pandemic scenario, the School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia had adopted an e-mentoring system to help undergraduate medical students acclimatise to new subjects, improve academic performance and decrease attrition. The authors highlight the challenges of e-mentoring, including aspects of interpersonal dynamics, slow development of relationships in e-mentoring and the requirement of specific skills in technology for useful online mentoring, are the few challenges discussed. Some possible solutions were also shared. This article is beneficial to institutions implementing or planning to implement an e-mentoring system.