Medical students' perceptions and performance in an online regional anatomy course during the Covid‐19 pandemic

Abstract

The present study evaluated the students' psychological well-being, experiences, performance, and perception of learning regional anatomy remotely. A regional anatomy remote learning curriculum was designed and learning materials were delivered virtually to 120 undergraduate medical students at Jinan University, China. All the students consented and voluntarily participated in this study by completing self-administered online questionnaires including the Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety and Depression Scales at the beginning and end of the learning session. A subset participated in focus group discussions. Most of the students (90.0%) positively evaluated the current distance learning model. More than 80% were satisfied with the content arrangement and coverage. Many students preferred virtual lectures (68.2%) and videos showing dissections (70.6%) during the distance learning sessions. However, writing laboratory reports and case-based learning were the least preferred modes of learning as they were only preferred by 23.2% and 14.1% of the students, respectively. There was no significant lockdown-related anxiety or depression reported by students using depression and anxiety scales as well as feedback from focus group discussions. The surveyed students' confidence scores in distance learning were significantly higher after 5 weeks than at the beginning of the session (3.05 ± 0.83 vs. 3.70 ± 0.71, P < 0.05).Furthermore, the present results showed no significant differences between the current group's academic performance in the unit tests as well as the final overall evaluation for different parts of the course compared to that of the previous year's cohort.The findings above were congruent with focus group discussion data that the use of the online teaching platform for regional anatomy significantly improved the students' confidence in virtual and self-directed learning and did not negatively affect their academic performance.

Undergraduate medical student perceptions and learning outcomes related to anatomy training using Thiel‐ and ethanol‐glycerin‐embalmed tissues

“…For most medical students, the exposure to post‐mortem human bodies in an anatomy setting is their first encounter with the transience of life and, ultimately, death (Attardi et al, 2022; Chaudhuri, 2022; Yakura et al, 2022; Zhang et al, 2022; Wu et al, 2023). The procedure of dissecting human tissues and incising an intact corpse can result in a broad variety of discomfort or stressful experiences for students in health science (Arráez‐Aybar et al, 2004; Cahill & Ettarh, 2009; Lindsey et al, 2011; Bati et al, 2013; Getachew, 2014; Sándor et al, 2015; Tseng & Lin, 2016; Criado‐Álvarez et al, 2017; Chia et al, 2020; Zibis et al, 2021).…”

A pilot study of robotic surgery case videos for first‐year medical student anatomy

“…These videos increased my exposure to surgery 0 (0) 0 (0) 9 (100) 5 (4,5) Prior to watching the surgical case videos, I was interested in surgery 2 ( 22 These videos are still useful to someone who is not interested in surgery 0 (0) 1 ( 11) 8 (89) 5 (4, 5)…”

“…1,2 Digital anatomy resources have been shown to be an effective and valuable tool for medical students to learn anatomy, and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many medical schools relied on virtual resources and reported positive student experiences. 3,4 Currently, a hybrid anatomy approach is widely used where students attend in-person dissections and lectures and are provided with supplementary virtual teaching material. 5,6 One recent analysis suggests that a hybrid-style anatomy course may be more effective for students than the traditional face-to-face method of teaching alone.…”

“…Over the past several years, there has been a shift in medical student anatomy education with greater incorporation of virtual resources 1,2 . Digital anatomy resources have been shown to be an effective and valuable tool for medical students to learn anatomy, and during the height of the COVID‐19 pandemic, many medical schools relied on virtual resources and reported positive student experiences 3,4 . Currently, a hybrid anatomy approach is widely used where students attend in‐person dissections and lectures and are provided with supplementary virtual teaching material 5,6 .…”

“…(11) 8(88) 4(4,4) a Likert scale administered on scale of 1-5 with 1 representing strongly disagree and 5 representing strongly agree.b Likert scale administered on scale of 1-5 with 1 representing significantly decreased in 5 representing significantly increased.…”