Anatomical sciences education
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Near-peer teaching (NPT) is a strategy in which senior students assume the instructor role with junior peers (mentees). Senior students develop unique skills and knowledge through NPT, an experience which extends their learning beyond content mastery. Different teaching modules featuring NPT were utilized in the human anatomy course at the School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico. ⋯ Theory and Imaging Anatomy instructors considered themselves to be information providers and resource developers, whereas Clinical Hour and Laboratory instructors saw themselves more as facilitators, role models, and planners. All instructors' opinions on the benefits of NPT were positive. Thus, in this article, the authors find NPT to be a strategy that promotes self-learning, a vital skill.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Ultrasound simulator-assisted teaching of cardiac anatomy to preclinical anatomy students: A pilot randomized trial of a three-hour learning exposure.
Ultrasound simulation allows students to virtually explore internal anatomy by producing accurate, moving, color, three-dimensional rendered slices from any angle or approach leaving the organs and their relationships intact without requirement for consumables. The aim was to determine the feasibility and efficacy of self-directed learning of cardiac anatomy with an ultrasound simulator compared to cadavers and plastic models. After a single cardiac anatomy lecture, fifty university anatomy students participated in a three-hour supervised self-directed learning exposure in groups of five, randomized to an ultrasound simulator or human cadaveric specimens and plastic models. ⋯ After the learning intervention, there was no difference between groups in change in total test score (P = 0.37), whether they were pictorial (P = 0.6) or non-pictorial (P = 0.21). In both groups there was an increase in total test scores (simulator +19.8 ±12.4%% and cadaver: +16.4% ± 10.2, P < 0.0001), pictorial question scores (+22.9 ±18.0%, 19.7 ±19.3%, P < 0.001) and non-pictorial question scores (+16.7 ±18.2%, +13 ±15.4%, P = 0.002). The ultrasound simulator appears equivalent to human cadaveric prosections for learning cardiac anatomy.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of modified Thiel embalming and ethanol-glycerin fixation in an anatomy environment: Potentials and limitations of two complementary techniques.
Thiel-fixed specimens have outstandingly lifelike visual and haptic properties. However, the original Thiel method is expensive and requires an elaborate setup. It is therefore of principal interest to modify the Thiel method in order to make it available to a broader user group. ⋯ Thiel-embalmed body donors are ideally suited for clinical workshops but have restrictions for student dissection courses in facilities with limited storage space, air circulation or technical staff. Vice versa, ethanol-glycerin-fixed body donors are well suited for student dissection courses in such an environment but are limited in their use for clinical workshops. Modified Thiel embalming therefore ideally complements ethanol-glycerin fixation in order to provide customized solutions for clinical workshops and student dissection courses in a wide range of applications.
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Comparative Study
A pilot study comparing the use of Thiel- and formalin-embalmed cadavers in the teaching of human anatomy.
Formalin had traditionally been used to preserve human material to teach gross anatomy. In 2008 the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) at the University of Dundee embarked on the use of the Thiel method of embalming. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the difference between formalin-embalmed cadavers (FEC) and Thiel-embalmed cadavers (TEC) used for teaching and surgical training. ⋯ Psychologically, 32.7% of undergraduate students expressed the view that TEC made them feel more uncomfortable compared with FEC because of their life-like appearance. However, 57.1% of undergraduate students encountered the same uncomfortable feelings when viewing both TEC and FEC. The use of Thiel-embalmed cadavers to teach anatomy has an added value, though further research is required over longer periods of time to identify its best usage.
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Comparative Study
Positive impact of a master of science in applied anatomy program on USMLE Step 1 performance.
In this retrospective study of medical student data from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, we examined the impact of the Master of Science in Applied Anatomy (MS) program on medical student performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination(®) (USMLE(®)) Step 1 and Step 2. From 2002 to 2010, 1,142 students matriculated as either students in the medical curriculum (MD group; 1,087 students) or MD students who also participated in the MS program (MD/MS group; 55 students). In addition, students were grouped as in either the Western Reserve Curriculum (2002-2005; WR1) or the Western Reserve 2 Curriculum (2006-2010; WR2). ⋯ No significant difference was observed in the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores between the groups. The results show that MD/MS students performed better on the USMLE Step 1 than MD students in the WR2 curriculum, although MCAT scores were similar between the two groups. Together, these results suggest that medical student participation in the Masters in Applied Anatomy program enhances student performance on the USMLE Step 1.