Influence of Learning Paradigms on the Retention of Anatomical Knowledge in Medical Students

Abstract

IntroductionPracticing clinicians today, especially surgical specialists, feel that medical students' anatomical knowledge is inadequate and does not meet the minimum threshold for safe practice. Culprits for this loss of knowledge are not exactly understood, however, key contributors include inadequacies during initial learning, lack of reinforcement in later phases, and non‐adaptive teaching methods for a growingly diverse population of learners. The primary goal of this study is to describe or suggest patterns of learning, learning tools, and teaching methods that promote retention of learned anatomical knowledge in medical students. A secondary goal is to compare and assess perceptions of students on anatomy learning and retention in pre‐clerkship years (i.e. years 1 and 2), and during clerkships (i.e. years 3 and 4).MethodsAn online survey was sent to all medical students (i.e. years 1 to 4) at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB), approximately 450 students. Information collected included demographics, learning style preferences, learning tool preferences, perceived level of anatomical knowledge retained, and opinions on curricular structure.ResultsNinety‐five students (52.1% male; 73.7% from years 1 and 2) responded to the survey. Fifty‐one students (54.8%) stated having no prior experience with anatomy, or having taken an anatomy class, while 42.9% of respondents reported utilizing anatomical principles less than 50% of the time. Seven respondents (10.6%) stated having retained 20% anatomical knowledge learned in first‐year medical school, 22 (33.3%) stated 21–39% retention, 29 (43.9%) stated 40–59% retention, and 8 (12.1%) stated greater than 60% retention. Each category of students was asked to provide a rank order of utilized studying resources. Students who reported <60% retention utilized dissection labs and professor‐written notes as their main resources. Students with >60% reported primarily using also the latter but with less frequency, atlases, and multiple‐choice questions. When re‐prompted to select resources for optimal retention, in both groups (<60% and >60% retention), there was an increase in frequency of students selecting dissection labs most pronounced in the >60% group. There was also an increase in frequency of students selecting atlases in the 21–39% and >60% groups. Across all groups, professor‐written notes were selected less frequently.ConclusionAnatomy education and retention relies on a major visual and kinesthetic (experiential) component, as seen in the preferences and perceived retention levels of students at OUWB. The use of written notes may be initially important for establishing context, but does not seem to be a significant contributor to long‐term retention. As more data is collected, these selections may show concrete trends in the way students are retaining anatomical information.