Enhancing Anatomy Education Through Student‐led Team Dynamics Initiatives

Abstract

BackgroundIn anatomy education, reliance upon fellow classmates and more senior students sharing similar experiences can foster academic success and prepare students for the emotional intensity of cadaver dissection. At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the first course, Structures, requires medical students to put collaboration into practice. Because of the emotionally and academically challenging nature of the Structures course, students must rely on their teams and supportive peers for psychosocial wellness and academic success.HypothesisStudent‐led initiatives focusing on team dynamics enhance anatomy education of medical students.MethodsFirst‐year medical students (n=140) participated in a student‐developed and led team dynamics session during orientation week, immediately before Structures began. Students met their teams for the course, collaborated in team activities, and discussed how teams foster psychoemotional well‐being and academic performance. During Structures, second‐year medical students conducted review sessions and debriefed Structures teams regarding their performance. Self‐reported team assessments (n=81) throughout the course and a final course evaluation (n=74) gauged team performance and efficacy of student‐led initiatives.ResultsStudents reported that the orientation session was helpful before the Structures course began, and subsequent course evaluations revealed continued consciousness about the team dynamics they experienced. Team self‐assessments revealed that team dynamics tended to improve from the beginning to the end of the course, especially along domains of conflict resolution (p=0.017) and learning and development (p=0.035). At the end of Structures, most respondents (71/74, 95.95%) expressed feeling more comfortable working as a part of a team.ConclusionsThese findings suggest the importance of student‐led team dynamics initiatives in anatomy education and in encouraging collaboration. This approach toward medical education also holds broad implications for patient safety, quality of care, and health improvement, areas in which collaboration serves a major role. Further investigation correlating academic performance on team practical exams and quality of team collaboration may underscore these findings. Student‐driven curricular enhancements in team dynamics may facilitate fellow students' success in anatomy education and beyond.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.