INTEGRATION OF ALLIED DISCIPLINES WITH GROSS ANATOMY CLASS NOTES

Vaughan Kippers*, Craig Hacking, Patricia Rego, R. Claire Aland & Tracey Papinczak, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072 AUSTRALIA.

PURPOSE: Most biomedical science learning resources presented in a PBL program are discipline-based, so that students are required to integrate and synthesise much of the information presented during a single week, based on a clinical problem. More explicit reference to histology, physiology, radiology and pathology was included in the gross anatomy practical notes, and student reactions to these changes were determined.

METHODS: Paper based questionnaires were used to survey second year students about their attitudes to the discipline of anatomy and its presentation. The results were used to edit the existing notes. Focus groups involving final year medical students then discussed the differences between first year anatomy notes presented three years apart. Most recently, on-line questionnaires of one-quarter of the first year cohort were used to determine student attitudes to various aspects of the first system module presented in this PBL-based hybrid curriculum.

RESULTS: In the first survey of second year students, practical notes were identified as a weakness in the teaching of anatomy. In a subsequent focus group, fourth year students were very positive in their reactions to the change in format of the notes, including the integration of allied disciplines. Early in 2008, the response to anatomy teaching was better than that of other biomedical science disciplines.

CONCLUSION/FUTURE DIRECTIONS: There is general satisfaction with the teaching of anatomy in the course, but the effects of modelling the processes of integration and synthesis by making specific references to allied disciplines needs to be tracked throughout the year with qualitative comments from students.