| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Anatomical Sciences, St. George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom;2. Department of Medical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Falmer, United Kingdom;3. School of Medical Education, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal), ?Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Project administration (equal), Resources (equal), Software (equal), Supervision (equal), Validation (equal), Visualization (equal), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal);4. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland;5. School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
| Abstract: | The Covid-19 pandemic has driven the fastest changes to higher education across the globe, necessitated by social distancing measures preventing face-to-face teaching. This has led to an almost immediate switch to distance learning by higher education institutions. Anatomy faces some unique challenges. Intrinsically, anatomy is a three-dimensional subject that requires a sound understanding of the relationships between structures, often achieved by the study of human cadaveric material, models, and virtual resources. This study sought to identify the approaches taken in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland to deliver anatomical education through online means. Data were collected from 14 different universities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and compared adopting a thematic analysis approach. Once themes were generated, they were collectively brought together using a strength, weakness, opportunity, threat (SWOT) analysis. Key themes included the opportunity to develop new online resources and the chance to engage in new academic collaborations. Academics frequently mentioned the challenge that time constrains could place on the quality and effectiveness of these resources; especially as in many cases the aim of these resources was to compensate for a lack of exposure to cadaveric exposure. Comparisons of the actions taken by multiple higher education institutions reveal the ways that academics have tried to balance this demand. Discussions will facilitate decisions being made by higher education institutions regarding adapting the curriculum and assessment methods in anatomy. |
