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The anatomy of public health: integrating population health in the anatomy lab (536.14)
Author(s) -
Chock Megan,
Lachman Nirusha,
Havyer Rachel,
Pawlina Wojciech
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.536.14
Subject(s) - gross anatomy , presentation (obstetrics) , curriculum , population , medical education , public health , medicine , population health , psychology , pathology , radiology , pedagogy , environmental health
For several years, medical schools in the United States have been urged to integrate public health and population science into their curricula. The first‐year Gross Anatomy course at Mayo Clinic serves as a teaching platform for many non‐technical skills that include professionalism, patient communication and near‐peer teaching that aim to meet core ACGME requirements. As part of the standard Gross Anatomy curriculum, students are assessed on a laboratory based learning activity referred to as a “bedside presentation,” where each small group is assigned a clinical condition and asked to present a hypothetical case as it relates to the anatomy and radiology on their cadaver. The objective of this study is to assess whether first‐year medical students’ knowledge of global health disparities and national population health improved after a longitudinal curriculum revision that combined public health concepts with the bedside presentation. Students first learned to examine a major cause of morbidity and/or mortality on a global/population level following which each team was asked to present a hypothetical patient (relating to their assigned cadaver) with an acute condition associated with the disease or behavior that they had researched earlier. Teams focused on associated anatomic and radiographic findings and used full‐body CT scans and corresponding anatomic parts to illustrate the effects of the disease. Pre‐course data indicate that students have a 50% understanding of population health trends. We anticipate that first‐year medical students will have an improved awareness of public health problems globally and in the United States after completing this activity in Gross Anatomy.