Moving SMD 501 Human Cadaver Anatomy lab to an on-line format
May 4, 2020
Moving SMD 501 Human Cadaver Anatomy lab to an on-line format
By Dr. Carolyn Jimenez
Human Cadaver Anatomy Lab is a required course for students in the Master’s in Athletic Training program. In addition, we allow senior students in Athletic Training and Chemistry/Biology majors to participate. Students enroll in the course to advance their anatomical knowledge and to enhance their current or future clinical practice. Emily Duckett and I have been teaching cadaver anatomy together for the past three years. We had revised the class so that it functioned like a well-oiled machine. When the university stopped in person classes due to COVID 19 we were faced with the challenge of moving a hands-on course to an on-line format.
After allowing for time to completely freak out, we settled into problem solving mode. We knew that we could not replace the dissection experience, but we wanted the students to get the most out of the course. Over the two-week period we were allowed on-campus Emily and I went into the lab to “speed dissect” one of the cadavers. We made videos and took pictures of the anatomy. We used the videos as an alternative dissection experience and used the pictures to create practice exams as well as serving for the “real practical exams”. We weren’t able to get everything dissected in the two-week prep time, so we went out onto the web to get other resources. The students were really disappointed to lose the experience of dissection because this practical kinesthetic course truly advances their anatomical understanding and clinical practice. However, they appreciated the work that Emily and I did to make the experience as best as it could possibly be. Our goal is to foster high-level critical thinking and build advanced anatomical knowledge. Below are the YouTube videos that we prepared for our students to learn about the forearm anatomy. Attached are the “check for understanding” practice quizzes available to students to assess their content knowledge.
How COVID-19 made our class better - We received positive feedback from the students concerning the new videos and the “check for understanding” practice quizzes. Students felt that the videos reinforced the anatomy content and the practice quizzes forced them to orient to an alternative picture of the anatomy. They learned if they could “figure out” where they were in the picture, they could transfer their anatomical knowledge to other mediums such as a patient evaluation or examining a diagnostic image. Our plan moving forward is to still utilize the video resources and “check for understanding quizzes” that we created to supplement the future student’s dissection experience.
YouTube Videos:
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