Student Use and Response to In‐House Cadaveric Dissection Videos

Abstract

During the initial COVID‐19 shutdown, in the spring of 2020, dissection videos were created to meet the ongoing needs of all our student populations. In total, thirty‐one dissection videos were created, corresponding to each laboratory dissection. Videos were linked to an online Interactive Dissecting Guide, which students could access through a secure network. Dissection videos were initially utilized for virtual laboratory sessions and as a supplementary resource for students. Upon the return of in‐person courses, the videos were then primarily used as supplemental resources. The purpose of this study was to retroactively determine student usage and feedback.MethodsAn anonymous survey was sent to students in the Colleges of Medicine, Allied Health, and Graduate Studies who had access to dissection videos during their gross anatomy courses. Data regarding video views was extracted from Echo360 and mapped to student populations covering the specific content at that time.ResultsInitial analysis showed that students tended to watch the videos more at the beginning of a unit and then tapered off toward the end of the unit. Additionally, videos that accompanied faculty lab demonstrations were viewed the least. Survey analysis of student feedback demonstrated that 77.6% of the respondents found the videos to be “very useful” and the remaining students ranked them as “somewhat useful.” Of the students that viewed the videos, 86.2% of them indicated that they viewed them frequently.ConclusionsStudents utilized and valued high quality dissection videos created specifically for their laboratory dissection content. Students had a tendency to utilize the videos in higher numbers at the beginning of each unit and less at the end of each unit.