42 - Optimizing Medical Student Anatomy Laboratory Contact Hours in a Highly Condensed Medical School Basic Science Curriculum

Poster Board Number: 42
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Abstract Body : An increasing number of medical schools are introducing the clinical phase of learning earlier in the curriculum while condensing the basic science component. The rationale behind earlier clinical clerkship training is that students can better integrate their basic science learning with patient care. Recent curriculum revision at West Virginia University School of Medicine cut our previously 14 week 19 credit Human Structure combined gross anatomy/histology course to a 7 week 7 credit course limited to 15 student contact hours per week. Our goal was to optimize student active and interactive laboratory experiences within our restricted contact hours. Students were assigned to small working groups and all labs were conducted in split sessions to promote more faculty/student interaction. Each gross anatomy lab session had 10 pre-tagged cadaver learning stations using prosected cadavers. Pre-lab study materials included faculty dissection demonstration videos, clinician surgical demonstration videos and accompanying lab guides and Web-based image bank. Histology labs utilized an internally created virtual microscopy website of digitized images as well as a Web-based interactive histology/pathology exercise platform where students used a set of tools to label and analyze specimens. Students also attended clinician-led ultrasound (US) labs where they examined standardized patients. The most challenging aspect for students was shifting from passive learning to a more proactive role within the labs. The first year of the new curriculum, we provided students with study materials and the faculty conducted demonstrations in the lab on untagged cadavers. We found that students were not working independently in their small groups and instead aggregated in large groups around faculty. To encourage efficient self-directed learning, we pre-tagged cadavers accompanied by more concise learning objectives and goals for each station and rotated groups to each station in a timed manner. Student feedback indicated that the dissection videos greatly facilitated their learning so pre-lab surgical videos were added the next year with clinicians performing the procedures on cadavers and presenting a station during the lab. Students reported that their favorite aspects of the course were the diversity of the laboratories, patient interaction in the US labs and the pathology analysis active learning exercises which presented the opportunity to flex their diagnostic skills. Both histology and gross anatomy lab practical exams scores increased an average of 3 points/exam by the second year in the new curriculum. The American Medical Association has reported that almost half of our schools are starting clinical clerkships after 1 or 1.5 years of pre-clerkship so efficient dissemination of material in anatomy courses can be accomplished with technology and tight scheduling without sacrificing positive student laboratory experiences and student-directed learning.