School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Centre for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Anat Sci Educ. 2021 Nov;14(6):752-763. doi: 10.1002/ase.2071. Epub 2021 Apr 2.
The impact of the medical curricular reform on anatomy education has been inconclusive. A pervasive perception is that graduates do not possess a sufficient level of anatomical knowledge for safe medical practice; however, the reason is less well-studied. This qualitative study investigated the perceived challenges in learning anatomy, possible explanations, and ways to overcome these challenges. Unlike previous work, it explored the perceptions of multiple stakeholders in anatomy learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the transcripts were analyzed by a grounded theory approach. Three main themes emerged from the data: (1) visualization of structures, (2) body of information, and (3) issues with curriculum design. The decreasing time spent in anatomy laboratories forced students to rely on alternative resources to learn anatomy but they lacked the opportunities to apply to human specimens, which impeded the "near" transfer of learning. The lack of clinical integration failed to facilitate the "far" transfer of learning. Learners also struggled to cope with the large amount of surface knowledge, which was pre-requisite to successful deep and transfer of learning. It was theorized that the perceived decline in anatomical knowledge was derived from this combination of insufficient surface knowledge and impeded "near" transfer resulting in impeded deep and "far" transfer of learning. Moving forward, anatomy learning should still be cadaveric-based coupled with complementary technological innovations that demonstrate "hidden" structures. A constant review of anatomical disciplinary knowledge with incremental integration of clinical contexts should also be adopted in medical curricula which could promote deep and far transfer of learning.
医学课程改革对解剖学教育的影响尚无定论。人们普遍认为，毕业生没有足够的解剖学知识来安全行医；然而，其原因却鲜有人研究。本定性研究调查了学习解剖学的感知挑战、可能的解释以及克服这些挑战的方法。与以往的工作不同，它探讨了解剖学学习中多个利益相关者的看法。采用半结构化访谈，通过扎根理论方法对转录本进行分析。从数据中得出三个主要主题：（1）结构可视化，（2）信息主体，（3）课程设计问题。在解剖实验室花费的时间减少迫使学生依赖替代资源来学习解剖学，但他们缺乏在人体标本上应用的机会，这阻碍了学习的“近”迁移。缺乏临床整合未能促进学习的“远”迁移。学习者也难以应对大量的表面知识，这是成功进行深度学习和迁移的前提。理论上，解剖学知识的感知下降是由于表面知识不足和“近”迁移受阻导致深度学习和“远”迁移受阻的综合作用。未来，解剖学学习仍应基于尸体，并辅以展示“隐藏”结构的互补技术创新。医学课程中还应采用解剖学科知识的定期审查，并逐步纳入临床背景，以促进深度学习和远迁移。
