57 - Changing Career Trajectory: Understanding the Impact of an Undergraduate Human Anatomy Course

Poster Board Number: 57
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Introduction: Advanced undergraduate courses in Human Anatomy are increasingly in demand for students who intend to enroll in health professional programs. Starting in the spring semester of 2017, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) began offering a dissection-based human anatomy course for upper-level undergraduate students (BIOL N461). This course is designed for students who desire an advanced understanding of anatomy, especially those who intend to pursue a health profession career. The course has been offered six times, but it is unclear how the course impacts students’ personal and academic experiences or whether the course is meeting its intended goal of preparing students for the rigors of gross anatomy at the professional school level. Therefore, this study's purpose is to understand how N461 is viewed by former students, and how it may have influenced their professional career.

Design and Methods: In an IRB-approved study, former students were contacted via email to complete a 10-15-minute survey. Emails were compiled from the learning management system. Those who no longer had active institutional emails were contacted through professional networking sites, when available. The survey collected data on educational and employment status and perceptions of the course through Likert and free response questions. Descriptive statistics were performed on Likert items and free responses analyzed using the framework method of thematic analysis.

Results: Of the 117 students who completed the course, contact information was found for 52 students, and 21 (40.3%) completed the survey. Of respondents currently enrolled in a degree program, five (35%) are currently completing a doctorate degree, and four (29%) are in a professional degree program. Five of the six respondents not currently enrolled in a degree program planned to enroll in the future. All respondents are either considering entering a healthcare/science related career or are already employed in a healthcare or science related field. Most respondents (95%) agreed that the course reinforced their desire to enter a health profession/science-related field and all agreed that it increased their confidence in succeeding within it. Free responses indicate for some respondents the course opened up new career fields (e.g., anatomy education) while for others with a prior interest in health professions, it made them feel more prepared when they began their program.

Conclusion: The results were largely positive and indicated that N461 was influential in determining career pathways, either confirming a career in a health profession or introducing a new career opportunity. While the course does not cover the amount of information typically required in professional programs, many respondents indicated the experience prepared them for the rigors of professional school. A future direction for this study includes creating a more robust system to longitudinally track alumni of the course.

Significance: Institutions with the resources should consider offering a dissection-based gross anatomy course for undergraduate students as it can have a significant impact on their career trajectory and perceived preparedness of professional school.