Anatomy Teaching and Learning in Malaysia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The abrupt transition from face-to-face to online anatomy teaching amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has posed great challenges to anatomy lecturers in Malaysia, as they have had to adapt to new skills to prepare and deliver online classes. These online classes were delivered either synchronously via a web teleconferencing application or asynchronously through pre-recorded videos that were uploaded to the learning management system (LMS). The online delivery of anatomy practical classes has become a major concern among anatomy lecturers and students, especially in public institutions, as there is a lack of hands-on experience and social interaction. Nevertheless, some private medical schools have adapted well to both online lectures and practical classes, as they had been venturing towards online learning and virtual reality tools even before the pandemic commenced. The Malaysian Anatomical Association (MAA) webinar, “Transformation of Anatomy Education in Malaysia during COVID-19 Pandemic”, discussed the issues related to lecturers’ and students’ receptivity to online anatomy classes. This study discusses the issues related to online anatomy teaching and learning (T&L) and the actions taken by the university’s governance and anatomy faculty members to resolve the issues discussed in the academic discourse.

Promoting more future‐ready anatomy education after the Covid‐19 pandemic: A scoping review

“…Theme 1: Immediate strategic plans and initiatives Some reviewed articles indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic caused an abrupt transition in anatomy education from face-toface to online learning (Pather et al, 2020;Tg Muda et al, 2021).…”

“…To support this implementation, institutions used online software and application (e.g., Complete Anatomy application and Visible body software), video teleconferencing applications (e.g., Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Team, Blackboard, and Google Meet applications), and their learning management systems (LMS) as a medium on instructional delivery and communication (Tg Muda et al, 2021). Educators received training in online learning and were encouraged to adopt multimodal teaching approaches (Tg Muda et al, 2021). Additionally, university administrators and program coordinators solicited continuous feedback to identify constraints and challenges in online teaching and learning (Longhurst et al, 2020).…”

“…Because cadaveric dissection is vital to the development of surgical skills, in‐person cadaveric dissection should be reserved for postgraduate clinical training with limited opportunities for such dissection (Chytas et al, 2021). Additionally, future anatomy curricula should incorporate social learning elements by enhancing inter‐faculty and inter‐departmental academic collaboration (Longhurst et al, 2020), developing effective support systems for technical and laboratory staff (Pather et al, 2020; Tg Muda et al, 2021), and offering inclusive anatomy education (Pacheco et al, 2020). Nevertheless, these changes require prior‐needs assessments to identify gaps, re‐evaluate educational value, and continuously reform policies in order to ensure responsive, adaptable anatomy curricula (Cuschieri & Calleja Agius, 2020; Evans et al, 2020; Baptiste, 2021; Evans & Pawlina, 2021; Iwanaga et al, 2021b; Bauler et al, 2022).…”

“…In some countries, anatomy educators were mobilized to cater to online teaching and learning (Pather et al, 2020). Technical staff members' and anatomy demonstrators' roles and professional scope changed because they had to assist in digital content creation (Pather et al, 2020; Tg Muda et al, 2021). As the pandemic has progressed, many institutions have faced financial difficulties due to the unanticipated, continuous expenses of educating students online (Pather et al, 2020; Tg Muda et al, 2021).…”

“…Due to Covid‐19‐related restrictions, anatomy teaching was delivered either synchronously or asynchronously through various digital and online platforms, ever since the enforcement of the mandatory nationwide lockdown (Tg Muda et al, 2021). The anatomy content was delivered via webcast teleconferencing applications such as Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc., San Jose, CA), WebEX (Cisco WebEx LLC, San Jose, CA), Blackboard Learn (Blackboard Inc., Washington, D.C), Microsoft Team (Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA), three‐dimensional (3D) anatomy software and applications such as Complete Anatomy (3D4Medical, Dublin, Ireland), and learning management systems such as Moodle Anatomy (Moodle HQ, Perth, Australia), (Tg Muda et al, 2021). Although digital learning platforms had been used to teach anatomy even before Covid‐19 (Estai & Bunt, 2016), students' and educators' receptivity toward learning anatomy online varies considerably, based on their prior exposure to digital tools and online environments (Cheng et al, 2021).…”