Teaching Anatomy to meet the CanMEDs competencies
Authors: Krebs Claudia , Wainman Bruce 
Published: November 2023

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada developed CanMEDS to provide a framework for postgraduate medical education. This framework has been adopted by many countries and now serves as a guide in the development of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education. Globally, medical education is moving towards a competency‐based model where undergraduates and postgraduates achieve competencies developed by their programs and accrediting bodies.

Anatomy is a natural integrator across disciplines within medical education. When we look at anatomy education, we can develop a curriculum that is based on the competencies as they are defined for undergraduate and postgraduate education – thereby providing a continuous educational framework that will inform students' professional development. Here we propose a curricular model for anatomy that integrates all CanMEDs competencies: the medical expert at the center, communicator, collaborator, leader, health advocate, scholar, and professional.

The proposed curriculum integrates the classic approaches to anatomy through cadaver dissection with radiological imaging technology, small group learning, online resources, and interprofessional experiences.

The communicator role relates to the relationship between physicians and their patients. Effective communication skills need to be practiced early on, and this can be achieved through the encouraging effective communication among group members.

The collaborator role is addressed through deliberate interprofessional learning opportunities where students collaborate on a problem set or clinical case to achieve specific learning objectives.

The role of leader can be achieved through peer teaching during their anatomy sessions, or encouragement to take ownership and leadership for their learning.

The role of health advocate is addressed through an understanding of disease and its anatomical / pathological manifestation. Advocacy comes through a combination of knowledge and a sense of social responsibility to use this knowledge to improve health outcomes.

The role of scholar is achieved through the learning of the didactic material, the exploration of pathology specific to the cadaver they are working on. This can be demonstrated through presentations or portfolios that integrate the pathology with the anatomy. The exploration of specific pathology can also lead to a research questions related to the findings, another manifestation of the scholar role.

The role of professional is developed through reflective practices as a learning tool to develop the responsibility, dedication, growth, and identity formation for their role as an MD. This transformative learning can begin in the anatomy lab as students transition from being undergraduate students to being health professional students. An attitude of professionalism is integral for the development of a sense of responsibility and care for the cadaver as a precious learning resource.

At the center of the Venn Diagram is the medical expert – an embodiment of all of these competencies. As we educate our students to become health professionals one of their first experiences is in the anatomy lab. We have the opportunity to integrate the values of these competencies into their education and create a curriculum based on a framework that will accompany them throughout the continuum of their education.

Support or Funding Information

AAA Visiting Scholar Award