Increased Presence of Peer Teaching and Teamwork in Gross Anatomy

Gross Anatomy has always included teamwork because students work in groups to accomplish their dissection of the human body. One of the goals of the new curriculum at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons is to foster teamwork, as well as peer teaching. Several changes were made in the Gross Anatomy course to reflect this mandate. The first change involves student teaching within the Gross Anatomy laboratory. Two groups of four students alternate days in the dissection laboratory. One student from the non‐dissecting group will learn that day's dissection from the dissecting group after which they teach their lab group at the next laboratory session, thereby delegating responsibility to the student. The addition of non‐dissecting sessions that run concurrently with the laboratory is the second change. The non‐dissecting group works in a team to examine bones, prosected materials, radiographic images, surface anatomy and discuss clinical cases. These sessions are written so that they can be done without faculty assistance thereby fostering self‐sufficiency. The third innovation is that the dissecting groups of 4 students take the practical exam together and submit one answer sheet requiring a shared responsibility among students. These changes to the course allow the students to take more responsibility for their education and learn to work with colleagues under conditions that require collaboration and compromise.