Comfort levels and experiences of middle school and high school age children in anatomical donor-based anatomy outreach sessions.

Many health professions schools host anatomy outreach sessions for high school students that utilize anatomical donors. However, teaching with anatomical donors for younger learners is uncommon. This study aimed to assess the comfort levels and experiences of students who attended the anatomy sessions as part of summer programs at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Younger learners (students entering grades 7-10; n = 25) and older learners (students entering grades 11-12; n = 33) completed pre- and post-session surveys about their comfort using a 5-point Likert scale. Before the sessions, most students felt comfortable or very comfortable learning from isolated organs (µ = 2.7, SD = 1.3) or full-body donors (µ = 2.4, SD = 1.4), even though most have never been to an anatomical donor lab before. After the sessions, the comfort level significantly increased for both isolated organs (µ = 3.3, SD = 1.1; p = 0.02) and full-body donors (µ = 3.1, SD = 1.2; p = 0.004). For isolated organs, there was no significant difference in the comfort level between younger and older learners before (p = 0.50) or after (p = 0.56) the sessions. Similarly, for full-body donors, there was no significant difference in the comfort level between younger and older learners before (p = 0.95) or after (p = 0.75) the sessions. Most students expressed that the experience was unique and positive. In conclusion, most students entering grades 7-12 felt comfortable learning from isolated organs and full-body anatomical donors prior to the sessions and felt more comfortable after the sessions. With this, anatomy outreach programs that utilize anatomical donors could be expanded to include younger learners to provide more dynamic teaching experiences for students of various ages.

Flexible, short-duration outreach sessions in the human anatomy laboratory provide authentic, humanistic experiences.

Anatomy laboratories can provide rich opportunities for outreach to K-12 and college students interested in pursuing careers in health, medicine, or science. At the University of Missouri, the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences has designed flexible, one-hour interactive sessions that typically cover basic anatomical concepts using whole-body donors. In order to evaluate whether short-duration programs were impactful in increasing enthusiasm for anatomy and the health professions sciences, we used mixed methods to study participant experience covering three topics: (1) enthusiasm for anatomy, (2) interest in pursuing a career in healthcare professions, and (3) perception of the importance of whole-body donation. The same questions were asked pre- and post-session, and the post-session survey had additional questions related to student satisfaction. Quantitative analyses showed an increased interest in anatomy and appreciation for whole-body donation following the session. Students also perceived that they had a better understanding of the body and what it would be like to attend a health professions school. Thematic analysis revealed an appreciation for contextualizing the size, position, and hands-on feel of anatomical structures, and emphasized that students felt that they understood the body better after having seen a donor's anatomy. This work shows that short-duration, flexible outreach sessions involving whole-body donors can provide students with a rare opportunity to confirm their contextual understanding of anatomy, and provide students with an authentic, and humanistic experience.

What do the public know about anatomy? Anatomy education to the public and the implications.

Public knowledge of the anatomical "self" is lacking and evidence points towards a growing need for anatomy education to the wider public. The public were offered the opportunity to learn human anatomy and complete an anatomical knowledge survey afterwards. Sixty-three participants volunteered to attempt to place 20 anatomical structures on a blank human body template. Responses were scored independently and then collated. A mixed effects logistic model was used to examine any associations with participants' as a random effect and all other factors as fixed effects. Results showed a statistically significant quadratic trend with age. Participants in health-related employment scored significantly higher than those not in health-related employment. There was a significant interaction between gender and organ type with males scoring higher than females in identifying muscles, but not in identifying internal organs. The current study demonstrates the general public's eagerness to learn anatomy despite their limited knowledge of the human body, and the need for widening participation. Furthermore, it raises an awareness of the anatomical literacy needs of the general public, especially in school children and young adults. Furthermore, it emphasizes the value of health literacy as a focus in undergraduate medical education. Anatomy literacy appears to be neglected, and this experience provides an example of a possible mode of public engagement in anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 11: 117-123. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.