Learning Cardiac Embryology-Which Resources Do Students Use, and Why?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Embryology
• Anatomy Visualization

Background:

• Increasing class sizes limit small group learning activities in embryology.
• Students need supplementary resources to deepen understanding and clarify concepts in embryology.
• Visualizations like animations and videos are valuable for understanding complex, four-dimensional anatomy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey first-year medical students on their use of learning resources for cardiac embryology.
• To assess students' perceptions of cardiac embryology's clinical relevance.
• To understand students' preferred methods for finding and filtering online learning materials.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to first-year medical students regarding the cardiac embryology module.
• Students were questioned about the clinical relevance of cardiac embryology content.
• Inquiry into the resources utilized by students to supplement their learning.

Main Results:

• Students recognized cardiac embryology as clinically relevant and found videos to be a useful learning aid.
• Students preferred using Google over instructor-recommended resources for information retrieval.
• Reluctance to contact faculty for questions was noted, particularly among students with lower English proficiency.

Conclusions:

• Effective learning resource utilization requires a shared responsibility between students and staff.
• Students need explicit instruction in critical appraisal of online learning materials.
• Institutional virtual learning environments should be designed for easy access to curated resources.