Medical student preferences for self-directed study resources in gross anatomy

• Published in: Anatomical sciences education Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 150 - 160
• Main Authors: Choi-Lundberg, Derek L., Low, Tze Feng, Patman, Phillip, Turner, Paul, Sinha, Sankar N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2016; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Anatomy; Anatomy - education; Attitude to Computers; Audiovisual Aids; Australia; Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Software; computer-aided learning; Curriculum; e-learning; Education, Medical, Undergraduate - methods; Female; Foreign Countries; Graduate Students; gross anatomy education; Humans; Independent Study; Laboratory Procedures; learning resources; Male; Medical Education; Medical Schools; Medical Students; Middle Aged; Perception; Personal Satisfaction; Preferences; Radiology; Schools, Medical; self-directed learning; Student Attitudes; Student Surveys; Students, Medical - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching; Test Taking Skills; Textbooks; Textbooks as Topic; undergraduate education; Undergraduate Students; Video Technology; Web Sites; Young Adult; Australia; computer-aided learning; self-directed learning; e-learning; medical education; medical students; gross anatomy education; undergraduate education; learning resources
• ISSN: 1935-9772; 1935-9780
• DOI: 10.1002/ase.1549

Gross anatomy instruction in medical curricula involve a range of resources and activities including dissection, prosected specimens, anatomical models, radiological images, surface anatomy, textbooks, atlases, and computer‐assisted learning (CAL). These resources and activities are underpinned by the expectation that students will actively engage in self‐directed study (SDS) to enhance their knowledge and understanding of anatomy. To gain insight into preclinical versus clinical medical students' preferences for SDS resources for learning gross anatomy, and whether these vary on demographic characteristics and attitudes toward anatomy, students were surveyed at two Australian medical schools, one undergraduate‐entry and the other graduate‐entry. Lecture/tutorial/practical notes were ranked first by 33% of 156 respondents (mean rank ± SD, 2.48 ± 1.38), textbooks by 26% (2.62 ± 1.35), atlases 20% (2.80 ± 1.44), videos 10% (4.34 ± 1.68), software 5% (4.78 ± 1.50), and websites 4% (4.24 ± 1.34). Among CAL resources, Wikipedia was ranked highest. The most important factor in selecting CAL resources was cost (ranked first by 46%), followed by self‐assessment, ease of use, alignment with curriculum, and excellent graphics (each 6–9%). Compared with preclinical students, clinical students ranked software and Acland's Video Atlas of Human Anatomy higher and felt radiological images were more important in selecting CAL resources. Along with other studies reporting on the quality, features, and impact on learning of CAL resources, the diversity of students' preferences and opinions on usefulness and ease of use reported here can help guide faculty in selecting and recommending a range of CAL and other resources to their students to support their self‐directed study. Anat Sci Educ 9: 150–160. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.