Abstract

Teaching anatomy by whole body dissection: a community of practice

Author(s): Annette Burgess, George Ramsey-Stewart, James May, Craig Mellis

Background: Topographical anatomy has been taught successfully for centuries where groups of students carrying out dissections, facilitated by anatomical instructors, construct their knowledge in a relevant context. We feel that the “community of practice” concept may provide a key educational tool and explanation for the success of such courses. The Community of Practice, encompassing the three elements of domain, community, and practice, is recognised as an effective socialisation strategy in education. We have applied the concept in the analysis of teaching methods for our recently reintroduced ‘Anatomy by Whole Body Dissection’ course at Sydney Medical School, Australia.

Methods: 24 students participated in the course. The effectiveness of the Community of Practice was assessed by student knowledge acquisition and retention, and by student perception of the course.

Results: The increase in students’ topographical anatomical knowledge was statistically significant. The median pre-course assessment score was 10.5/20 (interquarterile range 6) and the median post-course assessment score was 20.0/20 (interquarterile range 1). Student perception of the course was very positive.

Conclusion: The community of practice concept found in our anatomy dissection course provided an enriched learning environment that motivated students to build on their knowledge and apply what had been learnt.