Effectiveness of a shortened, clinically engaged anatomy course for physician assistant students

Abstract

There is little consensus among programs that train physician assistants (PAs) regarding how much time should be devoted to the study of anatomy, what should be included, or how it should be taught. Similar concerns led us to redesign anatomy for medical students and introduce clinically engaged anatomy, an approach designed in collaboration with clinical faculty. This approach presents anatomy entirely within the context of common clinical cases. This report examines whether clinically engaged anatomy could be adapted to the PA program, where students cover the basic sciences in half the time as medical students. We offered a modified version of clinically engaged anatomy to PA students in which time spent in self-directed learning activities was reduced relative to medical students. We compared their scores on an examination of long-term recall to students who took the previous course. Two classes who took clinically engaged anatomy, scored the same or significantly higher on every portion of the examination (P < 0.05). Students expressed high satisfaction with the course (Likert scale, 4.3-4.8/5 points). Compared to medical students who took clinically engaged anatomy, the data suggest that the tradeoff for reducing the time spent in self-directed learning was reduced skills in applying structure-function relationships and spatial reasoning to clinical problems. The data suggest clinically engaged anatomy can be effective in various educational settings, and can be readily adapted to clinical programs that vary in the depth that anatomy is covered. Nonetheless, careful assessments are needed to determine if the necessary tradeoffs are consistent with the goals of the profession.

The effects of passive and active learning on student preference and performance in an undergraduate basic science course

“…The subject of how to present anatomy content in an effective way has been the focus of experimentation in the curricula of medical schools, allied health schools, and undergraduate colleges. Examples include the following: teaching anatomy using common clinical case presentations in physician assistant programs has resulted in higher examination scores and higher student satisfaction with the course (Rizzolo et al, 2011). Use of interactive live digital imaging (LDI) microscopic slides on SMART boards for teaching histology in undergraduate level introductory anatomy and physiology laboratory courses significantly improved student learning and understanding of the subject, and resulted in higher scores (Higazi et al, 2011), and the use of different teaching styles and innovative learning methods have illustrated the clinical relevance of anatomy in speech production classes (Skinder‐Meredith, 2010).…”

Curricular response to increase recall and transfer of anatomical knowledge into the obstetrics/gynecology clerkship

“…Other health science professions, like nursing, have also documented difficulties in students transferring basic science content to clinical practice (Johnston, 2010;Rizzolo et al, 2011). Since the issue of transference of basic science knowledge to the clinical environment is not unique to our institution, the curriculum presented may be applied in training at other medical schools.…”

“…In addition, the issues of knowledge retention and transfer are not isolated to undergraduate medical education. Other health science professions, like nursing, have also documented difficulties in students transferring basic science content to clinical practice (Johnston, ; Rizzolo et al, ). Tenets of this model may be applied to any training environment.…”

Singapore's anatomical future: Quo Vadis?

“…In addition, other methodologies such as the use of clay modeling alone (Myers et al, 2001;Motoike et al, 2009;Oh et al, 2009) or in conjunction with animal carcass dissection (DeHoff et al, 2011), plasticine (Naug et al, 2011), and low fidelity simulation (Chan, 2010;Chan and Cheng, 2011) could all be harnessed to help with anatomy education. There should also be clinically orientated training for the students to identify of surface markings as this forms the basis of thorough physical examinations, and appropriate clinical skills (Rizzolo et al, 2011). If medical students are unwilling to partake in the above exercise due to cultural or religious reasons, it is also recommended that professional models and simulated patients be invited to facilitate the learning process.…”