ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: With the surge of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19]), the modality of teaching anatomy has shifted from in-person cadaveric dissection to virtual lessons for incoming first-year medical students. As a result, we aim to assess the impact that this curriculum change has on student perspectives. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to understand the relative effect of a virtual anatomy course implemented during the pandemic (2019-2020) on the confidence, skills, and perspectives of first-year medical students compared to medical students who had traditional in-person anatomy at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (Rowan SOM) in Stratford, New Jersey. METHODS: The authors developed a 14-question survey to target gross anatomy students of the Classes of 2023 and 2024 at Rowan SOM. The Class of 2024 had a virtual anatomy lab compared to the Class of 2023, who had an in-person anatomy lab in their first year of medical school. The responses were analyzed to understand the difference between a hands-on cadaver lab and a virtual anatomy lab utilizing SPSS. RESULTS: The survey was administered to approximately 400 people, from which we received 149 responses (37.3%). Among all responses, 36.2% (n=54) belonged to the Class of 2023 who encountered hands-on cadaver experience, whereas 63.8% (n=95) belonged to the Class of 2024 who gained virtual anatomy lab experience. An independent t-test statistical analysis was utilized. Under the confidence domain, when students were asked about the understanding of trauma after their respective anatomy labs, 64.0% of the Class of 2023 (n=50) showed significantly higher confidence with p<0.001, compared to 15.4% for the Class of 2024 (n=78). Under the skills domain, the Class of 2023 (n=50) felt more comfortable with ultrasound (64.0%), identifying all of the pertinent anatomical structures and their respective locations on imaging (72.0%), and identifying the pathology (90.0%) with respective p values of <0.001, <0.001, and 0.004. Only 36.9% of Class of 2024 respondents shared similar comfort with ultrasound (n=84), 30.9% identifying pertinent anatomical structures (n=84) and 65.4% in identifying pathology (n=84). Under the attitude domain, the Class of 2023 (n=50) had more respect toward the human body with their hands-on cadaver experience (88.0%) than the Class of 2024 (n=89, 33.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Based on current results, it can be established that medical students who had in-person cadaveric dissection had a favorable attitude toward their anatomy course compared to students who had virtual anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
During an ongoing pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel virus, new discoveries about its complications and treatment are made every day. Bowel perforation is another rarely reported complication due to the virus itself leading to ischemia or can be due to the treatment with antiviral drugs that reduces the integrity of epithelial barriers. This makes the bowel more prone to perforation even in patients with no prior history of bowel disease. We report a case of bowel perforation in a 72-year-old male patient with severe COVID-19 infection.