The relationship between premedical coursework in gross anatomy and histology and medical school performance in gross anatomy and histology

Forester, Joseph P.; McWhorter, David L.; Cole, Maria S.

doi:10.1002/ca.1114

Cited by 45 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The more knowledge and understanding of anatomy, embryology, and histology they take into the program with them, the better equipped they will be to survive the onslaught. As to whether this is really true, data are scarce; some support this seemingly logical premise, others do not (Rarey, 2001;Forester et al, 2002;Peterson and Tucker, 2005).…”

Section: Undergraduate Students Are Not Well Servedmentioning

confidence: 87%

Observations by a university anatomy teacher and a suggestion for curricular change: Integrative anatomy for undergraduates

Darda

2010

Anatomical Sciences Ed

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The observation that anatomical course offerings have decreased in undergraduate biology curricula is supported by a survey of undergraduate institutions in the state of Washington. This reduction, due partially to increased emphasis in other areas of the biology curriculum, along with the lack of anatomy prerequisites for admission to most medical and dental schools, has resulted in many biology majors who have little or no exposure to the anatomical sciences. This is a disservice to our students who need to understand organismal form and function to better connect our rapidly expanding knowledge of life at the cell and molecular level to our understanding of the role of organisms in ecosystems and as the primary target of natural selection in evolutionary change. Undergraduate anatomical courses can also serve as an extension of the anatomy curriculum in professional healthcare programs, where anatomical sciences are also experiencing a reduced allocation of instructional time. Given the importance of anatomical knowledge along with the many demands and constraints on biology curricula, what can we do? One suggestion, a course in integrative anatomy for undergraduates, is proposed and discussed.

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Section: Undergraduate Students Are Not Well Servedmentioning

confidence: 87%

Observations by a university anatomy teacher and a suggestion for curricular change: Integrative anatomy for undergraduates

Darda

2010

Anatomical Sciences Ed

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“…In fact, only four schools mention ''anatomy'' in their entries: two recommend anatomy as one of many courses that can be taken in addition to basic biology before matriculation, one lists comparative vertebrate anatomy as one of five courses that meets the prerequisite for one semester of advanced biology, and one specifically states that a course in anatomy cannot be used to meet the school's biology requirement. Undergraduates are left trying to decide if it is in their best interest to take courses like comparative or gross human anatomy that may have potentially deleterious effects on their grade point averages (GPA) before applying for medical school (Canaday and Lancaster, 1985;Hall and Stocks, 1995;Elam et al, 1997;Forester et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Undergraduate coursework in anatomy as a predictor of performance: Comparison between students taking a medical gross anatomy course of average length and a course shortened by curriculum reform

Peterson

Tucker

2005

Clin. Anat.

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The performance of students taking medical gross anatomy at the University of California at Davis during a 4-year period (1999-2002) was correlated with prior undergraduate anatomy coursework. Significant correlations were observed between class rank in medical anatomy and taking any undergraduate anatomy as well as the total number of undergraduate anatomy units (P<0.01). Taking human gross anatomy and an anatomy laboratory course were significantly correlated with medical anatomy class rank (P<0.01) as were grades in human anatomy, comparative vertebrate anatomy and anatomy laboratory courses (P<0.05). The medical anatomy course offered in 1999-2000 was 172 hr long, and the course offered in 2001-2002 was 135 hr long, with most of the difference made by decreasing lecture time while sparing the dissection laboratory. The reduction in course length was the consequence of a curriculum-wide cap in weekly contact hours. In the 172-hr medical anatomy course there were significant correlations between the students who took undergraduate anatomy and both class rank and the score on the final examination (P<0.01). These correlations did not exist for the 135-hr course. This may be explained by previous anatomy experiences helping students learn from lecture more than from dissection laboratory, as well as the extra study time available to students in the reformed medical curriculum. Pre-medical students and health science advisors need to consider that the benefits of taking anatomy as an undergraduate may be dependent on the configuration of a medical school's curriculum.

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“…This is an important subset of students to study since human anatomy is routinely taught at undergraduate institutions in the United States and student success in undergraduate anatomy has been linked to performance in medical school gross anatomy (Forester et al 2002). The goals of this study were to determine what specific organ systems undergraduate human anatomy students found most and least difficult to learn and to determine why they held these perceptions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student Perceived Difficulties in Learning Organ Systems in an Undergraduate Human Anatomy Course

Lieu¹,

Gutierrez²,

Shaffer³

2018

HAPS ED

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Learning human anatomy may be a difficult task for students for a variety of reasons including the quantity of material in the course or discipline-specific factors such as understanding anatomical terminology or learning complex physiological processes. Additionally, students may find certain organ systems more challenging than others. While prior studies have assessed student perceptions of learning specific organ systems in a variety of settings, it is unknown what organ systems students in an undergraduate human anatomy course find most difficult to learn. The goals of this study were to determine what organ systems undergraduate human anatomy students find most and least challenging to learn and to determine the reasons why they feel as they do. The results of this study showed that students overwhelmingly found the peripheral nervous system to be the most difficult to learn because of complex structure-function relationships and their inability to visualize the system. Conversely, students thought that the cardiovascular and skeletal systems were the least challenging to learn because of prior exposure to them and ease of visualization. These findings allow for the development and alteration of instructional strategies to address the issues that students face when learning about difficult organ systems.

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The relationship between premedical coursework in gross anatomy and histology and medical school performance in gross anatomy and histology

Cited by 45 publications

References 5 publications

Observations by a university anatomy teacher and a suggestion for curricular change: Integrative anatomy for undergraduates

Observations by a university anatomy teacher and a suggestion for curricular change: Integrative anatomy for undergraduates

Undergraduate coursework in anatomy as a predictor of performance: Comparison between students taking a medical gross anatomy course of average length and a course shortened by curriculum reform

Student Perceived Difficulties in Learning Organ Systems in an Undergraduate Human Anatomy Course

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