A unique and effective method of anatomy education: Small-group learning with prosected plastinated specimens

At the New York University College of Dentistry, we are faced with the challenge of teaching Head and Neck Anatomy to a class of approximately 380 first-year students. We have developed an innovative anatomy curriculum that has proven effective in facilitating students' learning and long-term retention of the material. It has the added benefit of being time- and cost-efficient. Here, we share the structure of our curriculum and examine the student outcomes and student feedback.

In this paper, we describe the evidence-based methods used in our course and present measures of student success. We also surveyed students about aspects of the anatomy curriculum.

Our curriculum efficiently manages cost, instructional time, and classroom space, while promoting student success. Over the last 9 years, NYU Dentistry students have achieved a mean first-time pass rate of 98.6% and an average anatomy score of 1.74 standard deviations above the national mean on the National Board Dental Examination Part I. Students agree with instructor assessments of which features of the curriculum are valuable and state that the course helps them prepare for clinical courses.

We believe that the main factors in the success of our course are the small group setting, the benefits of spaced repetition and frequent quizzes, and the use of plastinated specimens in place of wet cadavers.