Reflective Practice in Medical School Anatomy Course
Authors: Patitucci Teresa N , Fritz Jeffery 
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Developing character and professionalism requires the ability to critically reflect upon individual strengths and weaknesses. In this study, first year medical students were asked to reflect upon their experiences in a clinical human anatomy course in which learners work in teams to dissect a human body donor over a six‐month time. As such, this course provides many opportunities for reflection relevant to future life as a physician such as dealing with death and dying, working in a team, critical thinking, and adapting to medical school in general.

Aim

The aim of this study was to use reflective practice to evaluate the experience of first year medical students as they go through their anatomy course.

Methods

25 first year medical students wrote four reflections throughout their human anatomy course. Reflections were blinded and evaluated using qualitative analysis by two independent coders. Codes for each reflection were divided into three themes: emotional intelligence (self‐awareness, self‐regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills), teamwork (results, accountability, commitment, conflict, trust), and wellness/wellbeing (career/occupational, social, physical, financial, community, intellectual, spiritual). Learner satisfaction was evaluated with a follow‐up survey using Qualtrics.

All reflections have been coded and an in‐depth statistical analysis of code frequency using Chi‐square analysis is in progress. Aggregate exam scores from students who wrote reflections were compared to those who did not using unpaired t‐test. Results were considered statistically significant if p<0.05.

This project was approved by the Medical College of Wisconsin Institutional Review Board (PRO00032535).

Results

There was no significant difference in exam performance between student participants and non‐participants in the study.

Before classes began, students hoped to learn how to work as a team and worried over working with a human cadaver. By blocks 2–3, students discussed new things they learned about themselves, accountability within their team, and development of conflict resolution skills. Additionally, learners expressed social and physical challenges in which they did not have enough time to interact with their support network, exercise, or prepare healthy meals.

At the end of the course, most students expressed learning about themselves and learning about preferences regarding future specialty. Additionally, learners expressed that the most valuable things they learned from working with a human body donor were empathy, occupational satisfaction, and self‐awareness.

Results from our follow‐up survey showed that most respondents recommend using reflective practice in this anatomy course in the future.

Conclusion

In this study we learned self‐awareness and teamwork skills improved over the semester, during which time students applied new knowledge about themselves to better work with others. However, students were challenged by lack of time for self‐care or spending time with loved ones. To help prevent burnout in our future clinicians, educators should help learners develop strategies for time management and personal wellness.

Support or Funding Information

n/a

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.