"My Dead Body": Development, production, and reception of a documentary that publicly displays the dissection of a human donor.

Recently, there has been an emphasis on keeping the study of anatomy using donor material confined to the domain of medical and allied healthcare professionals. Given the abundance of both accurate and inaccurate information online, coupled with a heightened focus on health following the COVID-19 pandemic, one may question whether it is time to review who can access learning anatomy using donors. In 2019, Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) obtained a Human Tissue Authority Public Display license with the aim of broadening the reach of who could be taught using donor material. In 2020, BSMS received its first full-body donor with consent for public display. Twelve workshops were delivered to student groups who do not normally have the opportunity to learn in the anatomy laboratory. Survey responses (10.9% response rate) highlighted that despite being anxious about seeing inside a deceased body, 95% felt more informed about the body. A documentary "My Dead Body" was filmed, focusing on the rare cancer of the donor Toni Crews. Viewing figures of 1.5 million, and a considerable number of social media comments highlighted the public's interest in the documentary. Thematic analysis of digital and social media content highlighted admiration and gratitude for Toni, the value of education, and that while the documentary was uncomfortable to watch, it had value in reminding viewers of life, their bodies, and their purpose. Fully consented public display can create opportunities to promote health-conscious life choices and improve understanding of the human body.

Teaching with Cadavers Outside of the Dissection Room Using Cadaveric Videos.

The rise of Information and Communication Technologies and Computer Assisted Instruction have led to the adoption of digital visual learning aids to improve anatomy instruction. Creation of cadaveric video resources surged during 2020-2021 as they provided one option to continue teaching anatomy using cadaveric specimens in a time when all in-person practical teaching was prohibited to maintain safety during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cadaveric videos are relatively inexpensive to create and with the correct set up can be filmed independently by one anatomist. This makes cadaveric videos a feasible option for anatomists to create using their own specimens and tailored to their own curriculum. The use of cadaveric videos is not limited to instances where practical teaching is not an option and can provide an excellent supplementary exercise. Using cadaveric videos in conjunction with in-person dissection sessions could enhance student's self-efficacy, promote autonomous learning and reduce the likelihood of students experiencing cognitive overload while learning in the dissection room environment. However, sharing resources that contain cadaveric material online should be approached with caution and anatomists should ensure they have a secure method of distributing cadaveric video content to the intended audience only.

Digital and Social Media in Anatomy Education.

The use of images in various forms (drawing, photography, digital applications) has always been intrinsically associated with anatomy; however, the way in which anatomy educators and students create, access, view and interact with images has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. The method that anatomy educators use to engage with students and the wider public and how students engage with each other and faculty has also changed since the turn of the century, largely due to the emergence of social media. These two facets, the move towards digital images and the use of social media, are now intricately interlinked because social media enable anatomy educators to share digital learning resources easily and instantly to a global audience. This new trend of using social media to share digital images has created some ethical dilemmas that anatomy educators are researching and seeking guidance on to ensure that they are representing the potential conflicting needs and/or requirements of different stakeholders, including donors, donor families, students, the public, regulators and anatomy educators themselves. Meeting the various needs of stakeholders is complex; however, this chapter suggests an ethical approach for how digital images and social media can continue to be part of anatomy education.

Social Media Guidelines for Anatomists.

Social Media has changed the way that individuals interact with each other - it has brought considerable benefits, yet also some challenges. Social media in anatomy has enabled anatomists all over the world to engage, interact and form new collaborations that otherwise would not have been possible. In a relatively small discipline where individuals may be working as the only anatomist in an institution, having such a virtual community can be important. Social media is also being used as a means for anatomists to communicate with the current generation of students as well as members of the public. Posting appropriate content is one of the challenges raised by social media use in anatomy. Human cadaveric material is frequently shared on social media and there is divided opinion among anatomists on whether or not such content is appropriate. This article explores the uses and challenges of social media use in the field of anatomy and outlines guidelines on how social media can be used by anatomists globally, while maintaining professional and ethical standards. Creating global guidelines has shown to be difficult due to the differences in international law for the use of human tissue and also the irregularities in acquiring informed consent for capturing and sharing cadaveric images. These nuances may explain why cadaveric images are frequently shared on social media. This article proposes that as standard practice, anatomists obtain informed consent from donors before sharing images of cadaveric material on social media and ensure posts include a statement stating the same.

Social media guidelines: a review for health professionals and faculty members.

BACKGROUND: The rising societal use of social media has encouraged health professionals to use social media in their professional activities; however, this can be a daunting task, particularly for those who are uncertain about the boundaries for the professional use of social media. This article summarises the guidelines provided by medical governing bodies on social media use and provides practical advice on how social media can be used, which is transferrable across the health professions. METHODS: Nine guidance documents published by medical governing bodies in major international English-speaking countries were reviewed and analysed to identify their key common messages. FINDINGS: Five key themes were identified across all of the guidance documents, as follows: maintain patient confidentiality; defamation is unacceptable; privacy cannot be guaranteed; responsibility to maintain public trust; and reasons to use social media. CONCLUSIONS: The guidelines predominantly focus on the risks of using social media. Although this is necessary, it is likely to inhibit the exploration of the potential uses of social media in health care education and practice. All of the guidance documents from governing bodies encourage the use of social media to engage with patients and to network with colleagues; however, there is relatively little practical guidance on how to use social media as a health professional. This article offers some practical advice for faculty members who wish to run development sessions on how to use social media for professional purposes. … there is relatively little practical guidance on how to use social media as a health professional.

Examining the impact of audience response systems on student performance in anatomy education: a randomised controlled trial.

Background and aims Electronic audience response systems offer the potential to enhance learning and improve performance. However, objective research investigating the use of audience response systems in undergraduate education has so far produced mixed, inconclusive results. We investigated the impact of audience response systems on short- and long-term test performance, as well as student perceptions of the educational experience, when integrated into undergraduate anatomy teaching. Methods and results A cohort of 70 undergraduate medical students was randomly allocated to one of the two groups. Both groups received the same anatomy lecture, but one group experienced the addition of audience response systems. Multiple-choice tests were conducted before, immediately after the lecture and again 10 weeks later. Self-perceived post-lecture subject knowledge, confidence and enjoyment ratings did not differ between groups. Test performance immediately following the lecture improved when compared against baseline and was modestly but significantly superior in the group taught with audience response systems (mean test score of 17.3/20 versus 15.6/20 in the control group, p = 0.01). Tests conducted 10 weeks after the lecture showed no difference between groups (p = 0.61), although overall a small improvement from the baseline test was maintained (p = 0.02). Conclusions Whilst audience response systems offer opportunities to deliver novel education experiences to students, an initial superiority over standard methods does not necessarily translate into longer term gains in student performance when employed in the context of anatomy education.

The Anatomical Society core anatomy syllabus for pharmacists: outcomes to create a foundation for practice.

The Anatomical Society has developed a series of learning outcomes that 'experts' within the field would recommend as core knowledge outputs for a Master's Degree Programme in Pharmacy (MPharm) within the UK. Using the Anatomical Society core gross anatomy syllabus for medical anatomy as a foundation, a modified Delphi technique was used to develop outcomes specific to pharmacy graduates. A Delphi panel consisting of medical practitioners, pharmacists and anatomists (n = 39) was created and involved 'experts' representing 20 UK Higher Education Institutions. The output from this study was 49 pharmacy-specific learning outcomes that are applicable to all pharmacy programmes. The new MPharm anatomy syllabus offers a basic anatomical framework upon which pharmacy educators can build the necessary clinical practice and knowledge. These learning outcomes could be used to develop anatomy teaching within an integrated curriculum as per requirements of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Social media and anatomy education: Using twitter to enhance the student learning experience in anatomy.

Neuroanatomy is a difficult subject in medical education, with students often feeling worried and anxious before they have even started, potentially decreasing their engagement with the subject. At the University of Southampton, we incorporated the use of Twitter as a way of supporting students' learning on a neuroanatomy module to evaluate how it impacted upon their engagement and learning experience. The #nlm2soton hashtag was created and displayed (via a widget) on the university's virtual learning environment (VLE) for a cohort of 197 Year 2 medical students studying neuroanatomy. Student usage was tracked to measure levels of engagement throughout the course and frequency of hashtag use was compared to examination results. Student opinions on the use of Twitter were obtained during a focus group with eleven students and from qualitative questionnaires. The hashtag was used by 91% of the student cohort and, within this, more students chose to simply view the hashtag rather than make contributions. The completed questionnaire responses (n = 150) as well as focus group outcomes revealed the value of using Twitter. A negligible correlation was found between student examination scores and their viewing frequency of the hashtag however, no correlation was found between examination scores and contribution frequency. Despite this, Twitter facilitated communication, relieved anxieties and raised morale, which was valued highly by students and aided engagement with neuroanatomy. Twitter was successful in creating and providing a support network for students during a difficult module. Anat Sci Educ 9: 505-515. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.