Raimel Brooks, Elena Stark MD, PhD

Background: Medical education has traditionally been taught as two years preclinical and two years of clinical instruction for generations, until recently when many school have adopted schedules that shorten the initial preclinical years to 1.5 or 1 year(s). As a result, there has been much development and discussion of best teaching practices within medical education. Through the development of relevant clinical vignettes and assessment, this project will aim to aid medical students’ understanding of anatomy topics and their clinical relevance throughout their first year of training.  

Objectives: This project aims to assess the effectiveness of first year curricular Anatomy education materials, specifically interactive clinical application modules, as supplemental and correlated instruction to basic anatomy modules. Our focus for this study was on the anterior triangle of the neck. 

Design: We ascertained basic pathological presentations associated with the anterior triangle of the neck. Then, we assembled clinical vignettes with interactive instruction, correlating to the cadaver from which the students learn. 

Impact/Effectiveness: A short questionnaire will elicit quality feedback from the students, after the vignettes are incorporated into future lessons. We anticipate that integration of these supplemental modules will lead to a significant improvement in retention of anatomical knowledge, not only for the current semester but also throughout future clerkships. 

Summary: In conclusion, the addition of clinical modules is a great way to supplement instruction of anatomy lab for first year students, when given at the appropriate level of difficulty. Future studies could assess the retention/level of comfort for these students during clinical/surgical cases while on the wards the following year.