Perceived relevance of anatomy to clerkship: opinions of an inaugural class of final year MD undergraduate students

Abstract

This poster outlines results of a pilot survey undertaken to evaluate the perceptions of a graduating class of medical students about the relevance of the anatomy instruction received to subsequent training during clerkship years. A questionnaire was completed by Year 4 students at the University of British Columbia's Southern Medical Program (n=32). This group of students formed the inaugural intake into the MD undergraduate distributed program at Kelowna, BC. Students received their anatomy instruction in Years 1 & 2 of a PBL‐based curriculum in which regional anatomy was taught through didactic sessions and cadaveric dissections, supplemented by prosections and use of anatomical models. The aim of the survey was to assess how much students considered the anatomy instruction that they received relevant to their subsequent clinical clerkship. Furthermore, we aimed to ascertain the degree of confidence felt by the students in their current knowledge of anatomy and in what ways factors such as the method of instruction, teaching styles of particular professors or location of their campus (hence access to a diversity of resources) affected this perception. Data analysis is ongoing and results will be presented.