Novel and Innovative Approaches to Teaching Human Anatomy Classes in an Online Environment During a Pandemic.

In view of the current situation with a worldwide pandemic, the use of online teaching has become critical. This is difficult in the context of human anatomy, a subject contingent primarily on the use of human cadaveric tissues for learning through face-to-face practical laboratory sessions. Although anatomy has been taught using online resources including 3D models and anatomy applications, feedback from students and academic staff does not support the replacement of face-to-face teaching. At Charles Sturt University, we were obligated to cancel all classes on-campus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We ran exclusive online anatomy practical classes replacing classes usually run on campus. We designed an alternative program that consisted of twenty pre-recorded videos that were prepared in the anatomy laboratory using cadaveric tissues, and then discussed in live (and interactive) tutorials. Furthermore, innovative approaches to learning were shown and encouraged by the lecturer. Student survey responses indicated a positive response to both the anatomical videos and the innovative learning approaches. The results obtained by students showed a statistically significant increase in high distinctions and marked decrease in the amount of fail grades, compared with the previous three years (not online). The use of these videos and the encouragement of innovative learning approaches was a novel experience that will add valuable experiences for improved practice in online anatomy teaching. We propose that online anatomy videos of cadavers combined with innovative approaches are an efficient and engaging approach to replace face-to-face anatomy teaching under the current contexts.

A simple and short microbiology practical improves undergraduate nursing students' awareness of bacterial traits and ability to avoid spreading infections.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are responsible for implementing appropriate measures to reduce hospital infections, especially with multidrug resistant bacteria, so nursing students should learn about microbiology. This helps them to understand bacterial dissemination and infectious disease control. Because of tight schedules, however, its teaching is limited in undergraduate nursing classes in Japan. We therefore tested whether a simple short practical session in a microbiology class could help to improve undergraduate nursing students' awareness of bacterial traits and how to prevent infections. METHODS: This study involved second-grade nursing students (n = 76). Two short practical sessions (a total of 3 h, across 2 days) were used to assess the effectiveness of washing or disinfection on hand bacteria in a 16-class microbiology course (total class time was 24 h, plus an exam). Hand bacteria were sampled on LB agar plates with orientation during the first half-day, and the plates examined for colonies with distinct color or morphological traits, and discussed, in the second session, a week later. Questionnaires before and after the exercise were used to assess changes in awareness of unseen bacteria inhabiting around us connecting bacterial traits and how to prevent infections. RESULTS: The results showed that the practical increased the nursing students' awareness of fomites (utensils) (p = 0.0115), fomites (contact-based) (p = 0.0016), habitats (body surface) (p = 0.0127), action facilitating hospital infection (p = 0.0166), and changes in physical condition caused by bacterial infections (p = 0.0136). There were no changes in word associations (p = 0.627) or habitats (inside body) (p = 0.308). Difficulty score, which is an element in questionnaire psychometric properties, tended to be close to the expected score through the practical, but not statistical significant. In addition, regardless of before or after practical, Cronbach α score, which is an indicator of the reliability among items of multi-choice questions, showed > 0.8, indicating validity of evaluation items. Thus, the student's awareness of unseen bacteria inhabiting around us was significantly increased as compared to those before practical in microbiology class. CONCLUSIONS: The simple short practical effectively improved nursing students' awareness of unseen bacteria inhabiting around us in microbiology course, useful for even tight teaching schedules.

The use of simulation as a novel experiential learning module in undergraduate science pathophysiology education.

Teaching of pathophysiology concepts is a core feature in health professional programs, but it can be challenging in undergraduate medical/biomedical science education, which is often highly theoretical when delivered by lectures and pen-and-paper tutorials. Authentic case studies allow students to apply their theoretical knowledge but still require good imagination on the part of the students. Lecture content can be reinforced through practical learning experiences in clinical environments. In this study, we report a new approach using clinical simulation within a Human Pathophysiology course to enable undergraduate science students to see "pathophysiology in action" in a clinical setting. Students role played health professionals, and, in these roles, they were able to interact with each other and the manikin "patient," take a medical history, perform a physical examination and consider relevant treatments. Evaluation of students' experiences suggests that using clinical simulation to deliver case studies is more effective than traditional paper-based case studies by encouraging active learning and improving the understanding of physiological concepts.

Uso da glicerina para a substituição do formaldeído na conservação de peças anatômicas / Gliceryn can replace formaldehyde for anatomic conservation

A formalização é a principal forma de conservação de corpos e peças anatômicas, devido principalmente ao seu baixo custo. A técnica baseia-se na utilização do formaldeído (5-20%) como fixador e conservador. Entretanto existem vários fatores negativos à sua utilização, como odor desagradável, escurecimento, aumento de peso e rigidez das peças e sérios problemas ambientais quando descartada de forma incorreta, além de ser um produto classificado pela Agência Internacional de Pesquisas em Câncer como altamente cancerígeno. Existem várias opções para substituir o formaldeído, a glicerinação é uma delas, cujo será tratada neste trabalho. A glicerina atua como antifúngico e bactericida, além de ter muitas vantagens em relação ao formol, tratando-se de odor, textura e coloração, além de não ser prejudicial a saúde. Porém o seu custo ainda é elevado e isso explica sua pouca utilização em laboratórios de anatomia. Este trabalho tem como objetivo mostrar as vantagens do uso da glicerina em relação ao formol e propor uma possível substituição deste produto cancerígeno para preservar a saúde dos alunos, funcionários e professores dentro do laboratório, além de permitir um ambiente mais agradável para o aprendizado.(AU)

The formalization is the main form of body and anatomic conservation, mainly due to its low cost. The technique is based on the use of formaldehyde (5-20%) as fixative and preservative. However there are several negative factors on their use, unpleasant smell, browning, weight gain and stiffness of parts and serious environmental problems if disposed of incorrectly, and is a product classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as highly carcinogenic. There are several options to replace formaldehyde and glicerinação is one of them, whose which will be treated in this work. Glycerin dehydrates the cell and acts as antifungal and antibacterial, and has many advantages compared to formaldehyde. But its cost is still high and this explains their limited use in the anatomy lab. This work aims to show the advantages of using glycerin in relation to formaldehyde and propose a possible replacement of this carcinogen to preserve the health of students, staff and teachers within the laboratory, and allows a more pleasant environment for learning.(AU)

Using an ePortfolio system as an electronic laboratory notebook in undergraduate biochemistry and molecular biology practical classes.

Despite many apparent advantages, including security, back-up, remote access, workflow, and data management, the use of electronic laboratory notebooks (ELNs) in the modern research laboratory is still developing. This presents a challenge to instructors who want to give undergraduate students an introduction to the kinds of data curation and notebook keeping skills that will inevitably be required as ELNs penetrate normal laboratory practice. An additional problem for the teacher is that ELNs do not generally have student-administrative functions and are prohibitively expensive. In this report, we describe the use and impact of an ePortfolio system as a surrogate ELN. Introduction of the system led to several pedagogic outcomes, namely: increased preparedness of students for class, encouragement of creativity and reflection with respect to experimental methods, greatly enhanced engagement between students and tutors, and it gave instructors the ability to scrutinize original data files and monitor student-tutor feedback cycles. However, implementation led to a disruption of tutor workloads and incurred new levels of accountability that threatened to undermine the initiative. Through course evaluations and other reflective processes, we reached an appreciation of how an ELN should be introduced into practical class teaching so that it not only becomes an appropriate aid for teaching the laboratory experience, but also becomes a life-long resource for students.

The Newly Adopted Integrative Curriculum at Chungbuk National University Medical School / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: Entering a new century in the year 2001, Chungbuk National University Medical School (CNUMS) decided to adopt a fully integrative curriculum. This plan has been executed from 2002 to 2005. we are now at a point to assess this new curriculum and further improve it for the future. METHODS: We studied 'Curricula for Undergraduate' from Chungbuk National University and 'The Present Educational Status of Medical College' the Dean's Council of Korean Medical College published from 1987 to 2005. RESULTS: All lectures consisted of integrated lectures between the basic and clinical medical sciences. First and second year lectures focused on the horizontal integration of basic and clinical medical sciences, respectively. Also lectures between the first and second years formed longitudinal integration and purposeful repetition. Practical Classes were comprised of essential major clinical medicines and elective clinical medicines. Generally, lectures were reduced to introduce active learning subjects including problem-based learning (PBL), communicational skills, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) /clinical performance examination (CPX), basic clinical skills, community medicine, and health and society. CONCLUSION: The curriculum of CNUMS was changed from the traditional department-centered lectures to integrated organ-centered integrated lectures and practical classes. However, further innovation is required on the inside of curriculum.