The Anatomy Training Program: a Participant's Perspective

Abstract

The Anatomy Training Program (ATP, http://www.anatomy.org/anatomy‐training‐program.html) is a joint undertaking between the American Association of Anatomists and the Anatomical Society (UK). It aims at training anatomists so that they can teach Gross Anatomy at a graduate/professional school level. I participated in the ATP during the 2013 – 2015 academic years. I had no prior anatomical education, and the dental school at which I am a postdoctoral fellow sponsored me to participate in the program. My objective for this presentation is to present the positive and negative aspects of the ATP program by describing and reflecting on my experiences in the ATP. As a result of a significant time commitment in ATP I learnt Anatomy to the level that I currently teach it at our dental school. During the ATP program I learnt didactic and dissecting skills. I have a foundation for treating teaching as a science and view teaching as a complex student‐teacher interaction. I have learnt an important self‐improvement tool: reflection. I started using this tool as a method of improving my anatomical knowledge and teaching methods. I have recently interviewed at and received a job offer from a US medical school. In conclusion, ATP has been vital to advancing my career in anatomical education. In addition, reflection has become a life skill that I use to improve my performance in all sorts of endeavors ranging from cooking to home improvement to job related activities.Support or Funding InformationAmerican Association of Anatomists