Body painting, ultrasound, clinical examination, and peer‐teaching: A student‐centered approach to enhance musculoskeletal anatomy learning

Abstract

The presented course, established 2016 as a compulsory elective for 22nd‐year bachelor medical students, aimed to enhance deep learning of upper and lower limb anatomy from a clinical perspective by a maximum of student‐centered activities combining hands‐on skills training with team‐learning. Three cohorts (in total 60 students) participated in this study. Students rotated through body painting, ultrasound, and clinical investigation supervised by faculty or an experienced clinician. Teams of 3‐4 students prepared presentations on clinical anatomy and pathological conditions, which by teacher‐ and peer assessments on average achieved >85% (mean 17.8/20 points ± 1.06). After each activity session, the students reported their learning experience through a reflective diary. Fifty students (83%) evaluated the course by a voluntary anonymous questionnaire combining Likert‐type scale and free‐text questions to assess, predominantly, perception of course activities and their perceived influence on learning anatomy. Journal reports and questionnaires revealed that the students highly valued the course, and 92% (29 females, 17 males) rated group work satisfying or well‐perceived. The highest appreciation achieved ultrasound followed by clinical examination and body painting, which one third proposed to integrate into the regular dissection course. All students recommended the course to their younger peers. This course was feasible to integrate in the pre‐existing curriculum. Limiting factors to offer this elective course to more students are availability of clinical teachers, technical equipment, and education rooms. Being student‐directed tasks, body painting and reflective diary‐writing would be feasible to implement without additional faculty, which we recommend to educators for student engagement activation.

Inside Out: Role of Body Painting in Learning Human Anatomy-An experience from a Public and Private Medical College

“…No student from either college strongly disagreed with the benefits of body painting sessions, which include being interesting and interactive, aiding in knowledge retention and peer learning, allowing for the indication of landmarks, and being applicable to other regions of the body (Figure 1). hands-on, self-directed learning experience 9 . A study showed it to be very popular amongst all health professions' students 11 .…”

“…Several studies have found body painting as a valuable tool for learning surface anatomy. These studies have strongly advocated the use of body painting sessions in adjunct with classes of clinical skills teaching 9 . Studies have also reported these sessions to be feasible for the educators in terms of expenses and manpower involved and motivating for the students.…”