A Review of the Outcomes of the Implementation of Case-Based Anatomy Learning.

Vasileios Raoulis,Aristeidis H Zibis,Konstantinos Banios,Vasileios Mitrousias,Apostolos Fyllos,Dimitrios Chytas

doi:10.7759/cureus.19179

Abstract

Purpose: Clinically-oriented anatomy education has been proposed as an effective strategy in anatomy curricula. We aimed to explore the level of extent the literature supports the fact that case-based learning (CBL) can play a significant role in anatomy education.Materials and methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and Cochrane database to find articles with the purpose to explore the educational outcomes of case-based anatomy learning. We extracted from each paper authors, type of study (comparative or not), number of participants, level of outcome according to the Kirkpatrick hierarchy, outcomes of CBL concerning the acquisition of anatomical knowledge, and the participants’ perceived enjoyment, motivation, and aid to anatomy learning.Results: Nine articles were included. Three of them evaluated the acquisition of anatomical knowledge, while six papers evaluated the participants’ perceptions. All studies showed positive outcomes regarding the students’ anatomy examination performances, reported confidence, enjoyment, motivation, and ability of CBL to facilitate anatomy learning.Conclusion: Although the existing research has mainly evaluated students’ perceptions, the outcomes of CBL in anatomy education encourage more extensive use of this method in anatomy curricula. Further research is expected to shed more light on the role that CBL can play in modern anatomy education and to clarify if it can replace or supplement didactic teaching.

Highlights

BackgroundCase-based learning (CBL), a well-established method in health professions education, has been defined as a “learning and teaching approach that aims to prepare students for clinical practice, through the use of authentic clinical cases” [1]
We extracted from each paper authors, type of study, number of participants, level of outcome according to the Kirkpatrick hierarchy, outcomes of case-based learning (CBL) concerning the acquisition of anatomical knowledge, and the participants’ perceived enjoyment, motivation, and aid to anatomy learning
Baker [5] recently confirmed that medical students are far more likely to retain anatomical knowledge related to their future clinical practice

Summary

Introduction

Case-based learning (CBL), a well-established method in health professions education, has been defined as a “learning and teaching approach that aims to prepare students for clinical practice, through the use of authentic clinical cases” [1]. It can be expected that CBL, which provides a clinical context to anatomy teaching, would have been accompanied by promising educational outcomes. Estai and Bunt [6], who performed a review about anatomy teaching modalities, concluded that a blended learning approach is preferable, but the review did not shed light on the role of CBL. A more recent review [7] about anatomy education strategies confirmed that blended learning could lead to the best educational outcomes, but the review did not explore if CBL could play a role in an anatomy curriculum. We aimed to perform a review of the literature in order to explore the role of CBL in anatomy education

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion