Citations

The “surgeon‐anatomist” was originally a single individual who self‐pursued knowledge and understanding of anatomy as the foundation for successful surgical outcomes. However, recent advances in medical education have ironically led to the separation of anatomy and surgery. This physical and emotional “divorce” of anatomists and surgeons into separate individuals has created several critical educational issues for medical and surgical educators including a general lack of anatomical knowledge in medical students and misalignment of graduate medical education procedural specialty training with the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education Core Competencies and now the Next Accreditation System. There are numerous opportunities for anatomists and surgeons to work together to improve educational instruction of established difficult anatomical regions, procedural training, or even develop new techniques and procedures. Similarly, anatomists with specialized training in medical education would be invaluable partners to ensure that procedural assessments align with instructional technologies for truly longitudinal curricula that starts at the medical student level, but stops at the patient outcomes of attending surgeons. This mutually beneficial relationship would be similar to multidisciplinary care teams and current surgeon and PhD/EdD partnerships. The restoration of the relationship between anatomists and surgeons would be invaluable to surgical education and remains an exciting research opportunity. Clin. Anat. 28:931–934, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The foundation upon which surgical residents are trained to work comprises more than just critical cognitive, clinical, and technical skill. In an environment where the synchronous application of expertise is vital to patient outcomes, the expectation for optimal functioning within a multidisciplinary team is extremely high. Studies have shown that for most residents, one of the most difficult milestones in the path to achieving professional expertise in a surgical career is overcoming the learning curve. This view point commentary provides a reflection from the two senior medical students who have participated in the Student‐as‐Teacher program developed by the Department of Anatomy at Mayo Clinic, designed to prepare students for their teaching assistant (TA) role in anatomy courses. Both students participated as TAs in a six week surgical anatomy course for surgical first assistant students offered by the School of Health Sciences at Mayo Clinic. Development of teaching skills, nontechnical leadership, communication, and assessment skills, are discussed in relation to their benefits in preparing senior medical students for surgical residency. Anat Sci Educ. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been associated with increased academic achievement, but its impact on medical education is relatively unexplored. This study sought to evaluate change in EI, performance outcomes, and team cohesion within a team‐based medical school anatomy course. Forty‐two medical students completed a pre‐course and post‐course Schutte Self‐Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT). Individual EI scores were then compared with composite course performance grade and team cohesion survey results. Mean pre‐course EI score was 140.3 out of a possible 160. During the course, mean individual EI scores did not change significantly (P = 0.17) and no correlation between EI scores and academic performance was noted (P = 0.31). In addition, EI did not correlate with team cohesion (P = 0.16). While business has found significant utility for EI in increasing performance and productivity, its role in medical education is still uncertain. Anat Sci Educ 9: 143–149. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Medicine is increasingly focused on team‐based practice as interprofessional cooperation leads to better patient care. Thus, it is necessary to teach teamwork and collaboration with other health care professionals in undergraduate medical education to ensure that trainees entering the workforce are prepared to work in teams. Gross anatomy provides an opportunity to expose students to interprofessional education (IPE) early in their training. The purpose of this study is to describe an IPE experience and report if the experience has lasting influence on the participating students. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaire was administered to first year medical (MD) and physical therapy (PT) students at Mayo Medical School and Mayo School of Health Sciences. Results demonstrated an openness on the part of the students to IPE. Interprofessional education experiences were incorporated into gross anatomy courses in both medical and PT curricula. The IPE experiences included a social event, peer‐teaching, and collaborative clinical problem‐solving sessions. These sessions enhanced gross anatomy education by reinforcing previous material and providing the opportunity to work on clinical cases from the perspective of two healthcare disciplines. After course completion, students again completed the RIPLS. Finally, one year after course completion, students were asked to provide feedback on their experience. The post‐curricular RIPLS, similar to the pre‐curricular RIPLS, illustrated openness to IPE from both MD and PT students. There were however, significant differences in MD and PT perceptions of roles and responsibilities. One‐year follow‐up indicated long‐term retention of lessons learned during IPE. Anat Sci Educ 8: 317–323. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Anatomy learned by active exploration through dissection has many proven benefits including improvement of anatomic knowledge. Decreased laboratory time may affect the quality of dissection and ultimately lower student performance in anatomy translating to lower knowledge acquisition. The aim of this study was to determine whether the quality of students' dissection in teams correlates with their performance in the gross anatomy course. Quality of dissections for each team enrolled in a gross anatomy course at Mayo Medical School was evaluated biweekly using a five‐point rubric based on course learning objectives. Assessment of anatomic knowledge was based on sequential laboratory practice practical examination scores, achievements on daily audience response system (ARS) quizzes, and final practical, written, and National Board of Medical Examiners ® (NBME ® ) Gross Anatomy and Embryology Subject Examinations. Twelve teams comprising 48 students were included in the study. There was a positive correlation between dissection quality and practice practical examination score ( R = 0.83) and a negative correlation between dissection quality and ARS quizzes ( R = −0.985). Dissection teams with a passing score on their dissection evaluations (>70%) performed better on their final examinations. Based on an end of course survey, students agreed that dissection evaluations should continue to be a part of the course. This study showed that better quality of dissection was associated with higher scores on practice practical examinations, final practical, written, and NBME examinations. The study demonstrated a positive correlation between dissection evaluations, accompanied by formative feedback during the course, and higher scores on final course assessments. Anat Sci Educ 8: 45–52. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

Many anatomy programs that incorporate dissection of donated human bodies hold memorial ceremonies of gratitude towards body donors. The content of these ceremonies may include learners' reflections on mortality, respect, altruism, and personal growth told through various humanities modalities. The task of planning is usually student‐ and faculty‐led with participation from other health care students. Objective information on current memorial ceremonies for body donors in anatomy programs in the United States appears to be lacking. The number of programs in the United States that currently plan these memorial ceremonies and information on trends in programs undertaking such ceremonies remain unknown. Gross anatomy program directors throughout the United States were contacted and asked to respond to a voluntary questionnaire on memorial ceremonies held at their institution. The results (response rate 68.2%) indicated that a majority of human anatomy programs (95.5%) hold memorial ceremonies. These ceremonies are, for the most part, student‐driven and nondenominational or secular in nature. Participants heavily rely upon speech, music, poetry, and written essays, with a small inclusion of other humanities modalities, such as dance or visual art, to explore a variety of themes during these ceremonies. Anat Sci Educ 7: 219–223. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

The traditional route for teaching cardiac anatomy involves didactic instruction, cadaver dissections, and familiarization with the main structure and relationships of the cardiac chambers, valves, and vasculature. In contemporary cardiac electrophysiology, however, a very different view of anatomy is required including details rarely appreciated with a general overview. In this review, we discuss the critical advances in cardiac electrophysiology that were possible only because of understanding detailed anatomic relationships. While we briefly discuss the clinical relevance, we explain in depth the necessary structural information for the student of clinical anatomy. Interspersed through the text are boxes that highlight and summarize the critical pieces of knowledge to be borne in mind while studying the fascinating structural anatomy of the human heart. Clin. Anat. 27:885–893, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teaching is an increasingly recognized responsibility of the resident physician. Residents, however, often assume teaching responsibilities without adequate preparation. Consequently, many medical schools have implemented student‐as‐teacher (SAT) programs that provide near‐peer teaching opportunities to senior medical students. Near‐peer teaching is widely regarded as an effective teaching modality; however, whether near‐peer teaching experiences in medical school prepare students for the teaching demands of residency is less understood. We explored whether the anatomy‐based SAT program through the Human Structure didactic block at Mayo Medical School addressed the core teaching competencies of a medical educator and prepared its participants for further teaching roles in their medical careers. A web‐based survey was sent to all teaching assistants in the anatomy‐based SAT program over the past five years (2007–2011). Survey questions were constructed based on previously published competencies in seven teaching domains – course development, course organization, teaching execution, student coaching, student assessment, teacher evaluation, and scholarship. Results of the survey indicate that participants in the anatomy‐based SAT program achieved core competencies of a medical educator and felt prepared for the teaching demands of residency. Anat Sci Educ 6: 385–392. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

Improving professional attitudes and behaviors requires critical self reflection. Research on reflection is necessary to understand professionalism among medical students. The aims of this prospective validation study at the Mayo Medical School and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine were: (1) to develop and validate a new instrument for measuring reflection on professionalism, and (2) determine whether learner variables are associated with reflection on the gross anatomy experience. An instrument for assessing reflections on gross anatomy, which was comprised of 12 items structured on five‐point scales, was developed. Factor analysis revealed a three‐dimensional model including low reflection (four items), moderate reflection (five items), and high reflection (three items). Item mean scores ranged from 3.05 to 4.50. The overall mean for all 12 items was 3.91 (SD = 0.52). Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α) was satisfactory for individual factors and overall (Factor 1 α = 0.78; Factor 2 α = 0.69; Factor 3 α = 0.70; Overall α = 0.75). Simple linear regression analysis indicated that reflection scores were negatively associated with teamwork peer scores ( P = 0.018). The authors report the first validated measurement of medical student reflection on professionalism in gross anatomy. Critical reflection is a recognized component of professionalism and may be important for behavior change. This instrument may be used in future research on professionalism among medical students. Anat Sci Educ 6: 232–238. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.