Essential anatomy for core clerkships: A clinical perspective

Sarah A Keim¹, Derek J Harmon², James R Martindale³, Elisabeth N Lopez⁴, Charles Sanky^{5

6}, William S Brooks⁷, Meghan M Cotter⁸, David L Davies⁹, Majid Doroudi¹⁰, Jeffrey C Fahl¹¹, Anna Farias¹², Guinevere Granite¹³, Kelly M Harrell¹⁴, Rekha Kar¹⁵, Kenneth L Kramer¹⁶, Jon Jackson¹⁷, Shiloh Jones¹⁸, Wendy Lackey-Cornelison¹⁹, Jeffrey T Laitman²⁰, Kimberly Latacha²¹, Steven R Lewis²², Amy Lovejoy Mork²³, Hassan Marzban²⁴, Thomas G McNary²⁵, David L McWhorter²⁶, Aftab Merchant²⁷, Jason C Mussell²⁸, Melissa M Quinn², Joy S Reidenberg⁶, Danielle Royer²⁹, Alan Sakaguchi¹⁵, F Kip Sawyer³⁰, Daniel B Topping³¹, Bruce Wainman³², Lawrence E Wineski²³, Ann C Zumwalt³³, Mark H Hankin¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Education and Anatomy, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
³ Office of Medical Education, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
⁴ Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
⁶ Department of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
⁷ Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
⁸ Department of Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Anatomy, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA.
¹² Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
¹³ Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Medical Education, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
¹⁷ Anatomy & Cell Biology, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
¹⁸ Anatomical Sciences Education Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Medical Education, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
²⁰ Medical Education (Anatomy), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
²¹ Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
²² New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA.
²³ Department of Pathology and Anatomy, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
²⁴ Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
²⁵ Division of Anatomy and Molecular Medicine, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, Alabama, USA.
²⁶ Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pikeville, Kentucky, USA.
²⁷ Department of Health Sciences Education, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Rockford, Illinois, USA.
²⁸ Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, LSUHSC-NO, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
²⁹ Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
³⁰ Department of Anesthesiology, Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, California, USA.
³¹ Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
³² Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
³³ Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

PMID: 36929575
DOI: 10.1002/ase.2272

Essential anatomy for core clerkships: A clinical perspective

Sarah A Keim et al. Anat Sci Educ. 2023 Sep-Oct.

. 2023 Sep-Oct;16(5):943-957.

doi: 10.1002/ase.2272. Epub 2023 Apr 11.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.
² Department of Biomedical Education and Anatomy, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
³ Office of Medical Education, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
⁴ Department of Molecular Pathobiology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
⁶ Department of Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
⁷ Department of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
⁸ Department of Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
⁹ Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Anatomy, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA.
¹² Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
¹³ Department of Surgery, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Medical Education, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
¹⁷ Anatomy & Cell Biology, Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA.
¹⁸ Anatomical Sciences Education Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Medical Education, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, Ohio, USA.
²⁰ Medical Education (Anatomy), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
²¹ Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
²² New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA.
²³ Department of Pathology and Anatomy, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
²⁴ Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
²⁵ Division of Anatomy and Molecular Medicine, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, Alabama, USA.
²⁶ Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pikeville, Kentucky, USA.
²⁷ Department of Health Sciences Education, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Rockford, Illinois, USA.
²⁸ Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, LSUHSC-NO, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
²⁹ Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
³⁰ Department of Anesthesiology, Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, California, USA.
³¹ Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
³² Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
³³ Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

PMID: 36929575
DOI: 10.1002/ase.2272

Abstract

Clerkships are defining experiences for medical students in which students integrate basic science knowledge with clinical information as they gain experience in diagnosing and treating patients in a variety of clinical settings. Among the basic sciences, there is broad agreement that anatomy is foundational for medical practice. Unfortunately, there are longstanding concerns that student knowledge of anatomy is below the expectations of clerkship directors and clinical faculty. Most allopathic medical schools require eight "core" clerkships: internal medicine (IM), pediatrics (PD), general surgery (GS), obstetrics and gynecology (OB), psychiatry (PS), family medicine (FM), neurology (NU), and emergency medicine (EM). A targeted needs assessment was conducted to determine the anatomy considered important for each core clerkship based on the perspective of clinicians teaching in those clerkships. A total of 525 clinical faculty were surveyed at 24 United States allopathic medical schools. Participants rated 97 anatomical structure groups across all body regions on a 1-4 Likert-type scale (1 = not important, 4 = essential). Non-parametric ANOVAs determined if differences existed between clerkships. Combining all responses, 91% of anatomical structure groups were classified as essential or more important. Clinicians in FM, EM, and GS rated anatomical structures in most body regions significantly higher than at least one other clerkship (p = 0.006). This study provides an evidence-base of anatomy content that should be considered important for each core clerkship and may assist in the development and/or revision of preclinical curricula to support the clinical training of medical students.

Keywords: anatomy curriculum; clerkships; clinical anatomy; curriculum development; emergency medicine; family medicine; general surgery; undergraduate medical education.

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References

REFERENCES

1. Ludmerer KM. The clinical experience in medical education: past, present, future. Mo Med. 2004;101:487-90.
1. Ludmerer KM. Learning to heal: the development of American medical education. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 1996. p. 359.
1. Flexner A. Medical education in the United States and Canada: a report to the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching. Bulletin No. 4. Boston, MA: Updyke; 1910. p. 364.
1. Flood CA. Clinical clerkships for undergraduate students. Acad Med. 1939;14:145-9.
1. Goodwin RQ. Administration of clinical clerkship. Acad Med. 1934;9:229-35.

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Essential anatomy for core clerkships: A clinical perspective

Affiliations

Essential anatomy for core clerkships: A clinical perspective

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

REFERENCES

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Research Materials

Miscellaneous