A gift in disguise: teaching opportunities that are overlooked in the gross anatomy laboratory (343.7)

Abstract

The Anatomy faculty worked in collaboration with the Department of Pathology to enhance the first year medical student’s gross anatomy laboratory experience. Pathology faculty visited the laboratory three times during the gross anatomy course to identify pathology encountered in the cadavers and to discuss these clinico‐pathologic incidences with the medical students. Pathologists took tissue samples from the cadaveric specimens and presented a 45‐minute PowerPoint slide show at the end of the course. This collaboration enabled the pathology and anatomy faculty to incorporate both vertical and horizontal integration of disciplines taught within the undergraduate medical curriculum. As a result of this interdepartmental collaboration, there were several learning opportunities that were captured by the pathology faculty that would have been overlooked by the anatomy faculty. As an assessment of this interdepartmental collaboration on first year medical students, the students were asked questions on their course evaluation about the impact of the clinico‐pathologic course material on their learning. In addition, the student’s end of the year reports on their cadaver were qualitatively analyzed for clinico‐pathologic references and compared to those of previous years. In conclusion, the addition of pathology into the anatomy course can be beneficial to both students and faculty.Grant Funding Source: Academy for the Advancement of Educational Scholarship LSUHSC