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Effectiveness of pedagogical tools for teaching medical gross anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION: Medical institutions have been forced to modify gross anatomy pedagogy in order to comply with the health restrictions imposed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is one such institution that temporarily restructured its course. We replaced cadaveric dissection activities with prosections and a greater emphasis on a flipped classroom model. This study investigates the effectiveness of new course materials developed to aid these curriculum changes.
RESOURCES: Course materials were developed for three purposes: (1) preparation before laboratory sessions (orientation videos and Complete Anatomy screens); (2) guidance during lab (laboratory guides); and (3) review after laboratory sessions (Zoom recitation sessions). We asked students questions regarding the most helpful and least helpful aspects of the course materials. We performed a grounded theory thematic analysis of students’ responses (80/160, 50% response) to qualitative survey questions and to focus group questions (16 students who self-selected between 4 different sessions).
DESCRIPTION: Data from both the survey and focus groups demonstrated that the vast majority of students strongly agreed or agreed that the materials helped them navigate through learning gross anatomy. However, students expressed that laboratory guides were used mostly for post-lab review as opposed to the intended direction during laboratory sessions. Students within all focus groups overwhelmingly touted the value of, and advocated for, Zoom recitation sessions, with many stating that they were imperative to course success and comprehension of material.
SIGNIFICANCE: We propose that the utilization of course materials that students perceive as time saving, useful integration of information, pertinent to their exam performance, and combined with cadaveric prosection emphasizes the benefits of flipped-classroom learning to help students learn gross anatomy effectively and efficiently during the pandemic.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/43443
Date22 November 2021
CreatorsLin, Dustin
ContributorsWisco, Jonathan
Source SetsBoston University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation

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