Abstract
IntroductionAgainst a backdrop of ever-changing diagnostic and treatment modalities, stakeholder perceptions (medical students, clinicians, anatomy educators) are crucial for the design of an anatomy curriculum which fulfils the criteria required for safe medical practice. This study compared perceptions of students, practising clinicians, and anatomy educators with respect to the relevance of anatomy education to medicine.MethodsA quantitative survey was administered to undergraduate entry (n = 352) and graduate entry students (n = 219) at two Irish medical schools, recently graduated Irish clinicians (n = 146), and anatomy educators based in Irish and British medical schools (n = 30). Areas addressed included the association of anatomy with medical education and clinical practice, mode of instruction, and curriculum duration.ResultsGraduate-entry students were less likely to associate anatomy with the development of professionalism, teamwork skills, or improved awareness of ethics in medicine. Clinicians highlighted the challenge of tailoring anatomy education to increase student readiness to function effectively in a clinical role. Anatomy educators indicated dissatisfaction with the time available for anatomy within medical curricula, and were equivocal about whether curriculum content should be responsive to societal feedback.ConclusionsThe group differences identified in the current study highlight areas and requirements which medical education curriculum developers should be sensitive to when designing anatomy courses.
Highlights
Against a backdrop of ever-changing diagnostic and treatment modalities, stakeholder perceptions are crucial for the design of an anatomy curriculum which fulfils the criteria required for safe medical practice
● Collection of data related to current trends in the content and mode of delivery of anatomy curricula provides an evidence base for evaluating whether existing curricula meet the needs of the modern medical workforce
The study sample comprised: (a) medical undergraduates enrolled in the DEM and graduate entry to medicine (GEM) programmes at University College Cork (UCC); (b) students enrolled in the 4-year GEM programme at University of Limerick (UL); (c) clinicians who had graduated from UCC between 2005 and 2013; (d) university-based educators involved in the delivery of undergraduate anatomy courses to medical students in British and Irish medical schools
Summary
Against a backdrop of ever-changing diagnostic and treatment modalities, stakeholder perceptions (medical students, clinicians, anatomy educators) are crucial for the design of an anatomy curriculum which fulfils the criteria required for safe medical practice. In response to decreased contact hours, it has been suggested that anatomy education should focus more closely on a subset of the most clinically relevant topics [3, 4]. Relevant to this point is a recent survey of 93 physicians across US medical schools, who were asked to assess the relative importance of various topics taught on a human gross anatomy course [5]. As the nature of medical training and academic clinical training pathways continue to evolve, it is important that the learning requirements and educational preferences of graduate entrants are evaluated
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