Varying Effects of Prosection and Dissection Anatomy Curriculums on Confidence in the Clinical Setting

Abstract

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has a prosectionbased anatomy course (PRO), and the Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences at UC Riverside has a dissection‐based anatomy course (DIS). Students from both programs converge for 3rd and 4th year clinical clerkships. We conducted the first of several annual surveys in 2010 of medical students in both PRO and DIS programs (59% response rate out of 185 surveys). 80% of DIS students and 62% of PRO students said their anatomy curriculum increased confidence in physical exam skills. However, 40% of DIS students and 86% of PRO students said their anatomy curriculum helped prepare them for the USMLE Board Exams. When asked if the anatomy curriculum helped prepare students for 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations, 96% and 91% of PRO students responded positively, respectively, while 100% of DIS students responded positively for both clerkship years. Both cohorts regarded the anatomy curriculums highly, but expressed that prosection allowed for learning of semantics while dissection was a better preamble for surgical training. This study was approved with an IRB exempt protocol.Grant Funding Source: AAA