60 - Anatomy-specific Stressors in First-year Allied Health Students

Poster Board Number: 60
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : A proper understanding of gross anatomy is key to many clinical health professions, especially allied health professions such as occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT). Anatomy is usually one of the first courses allied health students encounter in professional school, and amid the numerous stressors faced, many students describe it as very stressful. This perception can affect students’ approach to learning anatomy and weaken their foundation-building for clinical skills development in the future. Previous studies have described anxiety, depression, and general stressors encountered among students taking anatomy. These have included other stressors in graduate and professional school and have not focused on course-specific stressors encountered within anatomy itself. Knowledge of anatomy-specific stressors could help faculty address those stressors that most affect students and improve their anatomy experience. The objective of this study was to investigate what course-specific stressors OT and PT students experienced during their gross anatomy lecture and laboratory dissection. A qualitative questionnaire was distributed to eighty-nine allied health students (49 PT, 40 OT: 100% response rate). It asked students to identify their affiliation (OT vs PT) and respond to two-open ended questions regarding what they found stressful in their anatomy lecture and laboratory dissection. Student responses were coded, and inductive thematic analysis was conducted using the Clark and Braun (2006) method. The study excluded all stressors external to anatomy instruction. Twelve themes were created with six being shared between both lecture and laboratory components. Ten of the twelve themes could be potentially modifiable. Stressor themes unique to laboratory dissection included: cadaver, fear of death, emotional preparation, dissection group dynamics, and supervision. Themes shared by both lecture and laboratory included: anatomical terminology, fear of failure, previous anatomy experience, time-constraint, teaching styles, and amount of information. The only theme found within the lecture responses that was not shared with laboratory was the transition from undergraduate coursework. This study identified course-specific stressors in both anatomy lecture and laboratory dissection. However, stressors identified in anatomy lecture were not unique to anatomy instruction and reflected common stressors in graduate education. Stressors intrinsically related to the study of gross anatomy were mostly associated with the dissection component of the course. Knowledge of these anatomy-specific stressors could allow anatomy educators to approach instruction by controlling some modifiable stressors. By improving the learning environment and students’ overall anatomy experience, students’ perception of stress may be reduced, and their participation and appreciation of anatomy could improve, leading to a better chance of building a stronger anatomy foundation for the future.