Introducing Novel Surgical Clinical Correlations Into an Undergraduate Medical Anatomy Course

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anatomy Education
• Surgical Education

Background:

• Medical students often struggle to connect preclinical anatomy with clinical applications.
• Vertical curricula integrating clinical and basic science concepts enhance learning and engagement.
• The digestive system (GI) anatomy course at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School sought to improve clinical relevance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess second-year medical students' perceptions of integrating clinical surgical concepts into a preclinical GI anatomy course.
• To evaluate the impact of surgical faculty interaction and supplementary materials on anatomy learning.
• To explore factors influencing students' interest in surgical careers.

Main Methods:

• Modified a preclinical GI anatomy course to include clinical surgical correlations.
• Introduced a surgical correlations booklet and relevant surgical videos.
• Facilitated direct interaction between practicing surgeons and students in the anatomy lab.
• Collected survey data on student perceptions and career interests.

Main Results:

• Students highly valued interacting with surgeons in the lab (M=4.15) and using the surgical correlations booklet (M=3.52).
• Both resources were perceived as helpful for learning anatomy.
• No direct correlation was found between anatomy lab surgeon interaction and increased surgical career interest.
• Anatomical dissection and external clinical experiences (shadowing, preceptorships) were reported as more influential on career decisions.

Conclusions:

• Integrating clinical surgical concepts and faculty into preclinical anatomy courses benefits student learning.
• Vertical curriculum models are supported by these findings.
• Further research is needed to identify key factors influencing medical students' pursuit of surgical careers.