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The study of human anatomy has long been one of the cornerstones of medical training and practice. However, the need to teach other preclinical subjects in more depth within modern medical curricula has led to increasingly fewer hours being dedicated to anatomy. With limited time and few qualified instructors, the ability to convey fundamental anatomical knowledge and understanding to medical students poses a major challenge for anatomy educators. In the present study, we describe the design and initial implementation of a near-peer Anatomy Teaching Assistant Program (AT-AP) and evaluate the students’ perceptions of its success. We demonstrate how, in addition to improving the anatomy education for undergraduate medical students, the teaching assistants (TAs; advanced medical and MD/Ph.D. students) were able to gain much needed experience for upcoming teaching responsibilities in their respective residencies. At the University Of Alabama School Of Medicine (UASOM), gross anatomy is not taught as one consecutive block but is interspersed within organ modules of the first 2 years of undergraduate medical education (UME). There has been a consistently low faculty-to-student ratio in the anatomy lab despite increasing student numbers. This shorthandedness has led to challenges in the gross anatomy laboratory setting. Addressing the issue by recruiting advanced medical students as teaching assistants (TAs) has been unsuccessful due to their rigid clinical scheduling. The goal of this study was to describe the design, successful implementation, and evaluation of a flexible co-enrolled elective Gross Anatomy Teaching Assistant Program within the context of an integrated system-based curriculum.

PURPOSE Changes in medical education have prevented students from conducting full cadaveric dissections in gross anatomy. The efficacy of alternative educational methods is being explored to augment traditional dissection. METHODS Team-based learning was integrated into the 2014 gross anatomy laboratory for physician assistants (PA) and nurse anesthetists. Deidentified data from the 2013 and 2014 courses were used to assess with t-tests the effect of this addition on student academic performance. RESULTS Students in the 2014 course who experienced team-based learning performed significantly better on 75% of written and laboratory practical examinations (P < .05). Those mean examination increases correlated with a positive shift in final grades. A greater benefit was noted for PA students than for nurse anesthetist students. CONCLUSIONS Team-based learning is an effective supplement to cadaveric dissection. Student short-term knowledge outcomes improve with the combination of dissection and team-based learning in the gross anatomy laboratory.

Introduction The module utilizes the team-based learning (TBL) approach to teach the gross anatomy of the posterior abdominal wall, kidneys, and diaphragm. The application exercises include two different case studies: pyelonephritis and the pain management of cholangiocarcinoma. Methods This TBL module was originally delivered to an interprofessional class of first-year surgical physician assistant (PA) and nurse anesthetist (NA) students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall of 2014 in the NA/PA Gross Anatomy course, and designed to supplement cadaveric dissection activities following a traditional regional anatomy-based lecture. Following the standard TBL format, each TBL session included a preclass assignment in which students were given learning objectives and assigned readings to prepare for the session. Students were then administered individual readiness assurance tests, group readiness assurance tests, and a series of group application exercises centered on the clinical gross anatomy of the posterior abdominal wall and diaphragm. Results Following completion of the NA/PA Gross Anatomy course, student outcomes data was evaluated to determine the effectiveness of incorporating this TBL. Students of the 2014 course who participated in TBL outscored students of the 2013 course on all written and practical examinations. On average, students who participated in TBL in conjunction with lecture and dissection scored 4.9 percentage points higher on written examinations and 5.0 points higher on practical examinations than those who only participated in lectures and dissections. Discussion This TBL module successfully solidifies students' knowledge of the clinical gross anatomy of the posterior abdominal wall and diaphragm. While the content included in this module was written for first-year NA and PA students, the module is suited for a variety of health science disciplines including medicine, dentistry, optometry, and physical therapy.