The Effectiveness of A Multimodal Approach to Teaching Gross Anatomy Courses in a Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Abstract

Introduction & ObjectiveHealthcare educational programs worldwide had to transition from presential to virtual instructions due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Gross anatomy courses were heavily impacted because of several challenges in creating realistic virtual anatomy labs. Visible Body is an online anatomy learning platform that provides 3D anatomical models and has been used in our institution during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Qualitative responses from graduate students enrolled in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Fresno State reported positive experiences with Visible Body. Adaptations to online learning prompted course reconstruction with the return of face‐to‐face instruction, and Visible Body has been incorporated as a pre‐dissection learning activity prior to cadaver dissection. This preliminary educational assessment aims to measure academic performance and students’ satisfaction with the multimodal pedagogy approach. We hypothesized that students using this multimodal approach would achieve higher academic performance compared to previous cohorts exposed to only 3D virtual dissections or in‐person cadaver dissections.Materials andMethods34 students enrolled in the Anatomy of the Appendicular Skeleton are provided with a weekly list of anatomical structures required for weekly dissection content. Before attending in‐person dissections, they have been performing virtual dissections on 3D models. To measure academic performance, the mean course grade of the following cohorts will be analyzed: 1) virtual dissection cohort, 2) in‐person dissection cohort, and 3) multimodal cohort including both Visible Body and in‐person dissection. A preliminary analysis of academic performance was conducted using the mean grade of the gross anatomy lab quiz 1 between the multimodal and in‐person dissection groups. Quiz 1 consisted of 32 numerated pins in the gluteal region of real cadavers. Independent t‐test was used to compare the means between the cohorts. The significance level was set to p < 0.05. In addition to academic performance, satisfaction levels of the multimodal approach will be assessed through an anonymous survey at the end of the Fall 2021 semester. The final analysis, including academic performance and students’ satisfaction, will be completed in January 2022.Results34 students from each cohort completed Quiz 1. The preliminary analysis shows that the cohort using the multimodal pedagogy approach had a higher mean grade than a cohort not exposed to the virtual dissection experience (9.3 ± 0.8 vs. 8.9 ± 0.9, p < 0.05).ConclusionThe implementation of a multimodal pedagogy to increase the exposure to anatomical terms and anatomical topography prior to in‐person cadaver dissections may be an effective methodology to promote students’ academic success. 3D anatomical models may enhance students’ learning by providing more realistic anatomical topography than 2D human anatomy atlas traditionally used for anatomy courses.Significance/ImplicationStudents coming to a cadaver lab secession after interacting with a 3D gross anatomy lab may be better prepared to conduct the cadaver dissections by better understanding the anatomical topography and anatomical terms.