Abstract
Anatomy integration into clinical year medical education is oft recommended but rarely described. Previously we introduced an innovative approach integrating anatomy education into clinical year medicine. Here we present the effects of this vertically‐integrated musculoskeletal (MSK) elective in an effort to inform similar curricular innovations. Students participating in either a MSK (experimental, n = 25) or humanities course (control, n=19) were evaluated using a repeated measures, mixed methods approach. All participants took a published MSK competency exam. Additionally, experimental participants responded to Likert questions evaluating anatomical confidence, open‐ended questions ascertaining perceptions of the MSK elective, and were assessed on standardized patient (SP) exam performance. MSK competency exam scores significantly improved (p<0.05) following participation in the anatomy elective compared to both pre‐test performance and controls. This improvement was maintained up to 6 months post‐course. Experimental participants also significantly improved their confidence, from pre‐ to posttest, in clinical domains having high anatomical relevancy (p<0.05). Qualitative analysis identified two key themes perceived as impacting learning, “content structure” and “delivery format”. Subthemes suggest that students value “discipline integration” and “independent study”. Surprisingly, however, SP exam scores were unaltered following MSK course participation. Course participation positively affected MSK knowledge competency and retention, but did not affect clinical skill aptitude, suggesting that a mixture of clinical exposure and classroom teaching might be needed to positively impact both knowledge and application. Though effective vertical anatomy integration was previously shown to require dedicated classroom teaching time, these results suggest there is an optimal ratio between these two paradigms (knowledge vs. application) required for desired clinical competency.Support or Funding InformationLWW/AAA Education Research Scholarship
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