Human Anatomy Lab Outreach Sessions increase excitement and appreciation for anatomy
Authors: Ruth Aidan A. , Nesbitt Allison , Johnson Laura E. 
Published: April 2020

As a land‐grant, state‐run institution, one of the outreach efforts offered by the University of Missouri ‐ Columbia Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences includes private, hour‐long outreach sessions to local area groups in a human dissection anatomy laboratory. One of the primary goals of the Human Anatomy Lab Outreach (HALO) sessions is to nurture the curiosity and interest of students interested in a career in medicine or allied health professions. Prosected donor‐based outreach programs have been shown to enhance learning and inspire students to consider careers in health and medicine, but are typically longer in duration or include guided activities. The HALO program is designed as a flexible, interactive session with students where one instructor demonstrates topics of his or her interest to a maximum of 15 students. Topics typically cover basic anatomical concepts as well as unique aspects of a particular donor such as the anatomy of pacemakers, or other topics the group may ask about.

We sought to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the experiences of the students invited to the anatomy lab by giving a pre‐ and post‐session assessment for four topics: 1) performance on anatomy content, 2) enthusiasm for anatomy, 3) interest in pursuing a career in healthcare professions, and 4) perception of the importance of whole body donation for education and research. The same questions were asked for both the pre‐ and post‐assessment, with the post‐test having additional questions related to student satisfaction and open‐ended, free form questions. Seven groups composed of 163 students from 5 public high schools, a private religious college and a vocational school participated in the study.

Results of paired‐samples t‐tests conducted for each of five “anatomical learning” questions showed consistency in performance before and after the session, and for the one question with a significant change, performance decreased (59% to 40%). Despite the lack of improvement in their answers, 93% of the student visitors answered that they had a “much” (51%) or “somewhat” (42%) better understanding of the human body after their session in the lab which is likely due to a number of factors, including the observation that more students completed the post‐assessment than the pre‐assessment.

After the session, students found anatomy more interesting and whole‐body donation important. 94% of our visitors reported that they had a better understanding of what it would be like to study a health profession, and 69% were “extremely likely” to recommend this experience to a friend. Additionally, responses to open‐ended questions revealed an appreciation for contextualizing the size, position, and hands‐on feel of anatomical structures. This work shows that the primary strength of the HALO program is in increasing excitement for anatomy and health education and appreciation for whole‐body donors.

Support or Funding Information

Support provided by the University of Missouri Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences.