A validated instrument measuring students' perceptions on plastinated and three-dimensional printed anatomy tools

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anatomy Education
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Anatomy education is evolving beyond traditional cadaveric dissection.
• Plastination and 3D printing technologies are increasingly important in anatomy.
• Validated instruments are needed to assess student perceptions of new anatomy tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an instrument to measure medical students' perceptions of plastinated and 3D printed anatomy models.
• To assess learning satisfaction, self-efficacy, humanistic values, and perceived limitations.
• To provide a reliable tool for evaluating novel anatomy teaching methods.

Main Methods:

• A 41-item survey using a five-point Likert scale was developed.
• The survey was administered to Year 1 medical students after using plastinated and 3D printed models.
• Factor analysis (exploratory and confirmatory) and Cronbach's alpha were used for validation.

Main Results:

• A 19-item, 4-factor model demonstrated a good fit (CFI=0.946, TLI=0.937, RMSEA=0.068).
• The instrument showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.74–0.95).
• The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure indicated adequate sampling adequacy (0.878).

Conclusions:

• A psychometrically valid and reliable instrument was developed to measure student perceptions of plastinated and 3D printed anatomy models.
• This tool can aid in evaluating the effectiveness of innovative anatomy teaching resources.
• The findings support the use of validated surveys in modernizing medical education.