Anatomy by whole body dissection: a focus group study of students' learning experience

Advances in Medical Education and Practice
Annette Burgess, George Ramsey-Stewart

Abstract

The social construction of knowledge within medical education is essential for learning. Students' interactions within groups and associated learning artifacts can meaningfully impact learning. Situated cognition theory poses that knowledge, thinking, and learning are located in experience. In recent years, there has been a reported decline in time spent on anatomy by whole body dissection (AWBD) within medical programs. However, teaching by surgeons in AWBD provides unique opportunities for students, promoting a deeper engagement in learning. In this study, we apply situated cognition theory as a conceptual framework to explore students' perceptions of their learning experience within the 2014 iteration of an 8-week elective AWBD course. At the end of the course, all students (n=24) were invited to attend one of three focus groups. Framework analysis was used to code and categorize data into themes. In total, 20/24 (83%) students participated in focus groups. Utilizing situated cognition theory as a conceptual framework, we illustrate students' learning experiences within the AWBD course. Students highlighted opportunities to create and reinforce their own knowledge through active participation in authentic dissection tasks; g...Continue Reading

Citations

Mar 8, 2019·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·M Alex MeredithSusan R DiGiovanni
Sep 23, 2020·Journal of Surgical Education·Nguyen HuynhCraig Mellis
Feb 6, 2021·Anatomical Sciences Education·Mark Roxburgh, Darrell J R Evans

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
dissection

Software Mentioned

AWBD

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