Principal Investigators: Jessica Byram, Assistant Professor, Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology, School of Medicine; Kyle Robertson, PhD; Visiting Lecturer, Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology
Indiana University School of Medicine, West Lafayette
Project Title: Diagnosing the First Patient: Integrating Histopathology into an Undergraduate Gross Anatomy Course
Funding Level: $3030
Abstract: Anatomy educators must ensure students have the requisite anatomy knowledge to move onto their next phase of training or practice. Recently, educators have begun to recognize that the anatomical learning environment is a space where integrated learning can occur and other technical (e.g., diagnostic) and non-technical skills (e.g., humanism) can be learned. Some medical institutions have attempted to incorporate humanism into anatomy curricula through donor memorials, reflections, and integrating pathology content. However, as professional schools reduce curricular time in anatomy, it calls to question how to deliver an integrated, values-based anatomy experience without over burdening the compact curriculum. As such, it may become more important for students to learn humanistic values earlier in their education. Students enrolled in BIOL-N461 at IUPUI take part in a values-based anatomy course that integrates dissection of whole-body donors with written reflections and explorations of gross pathology within the First Patient Project (FFP). While the goal of the FPP is to present pathology findings in their donors and correlate them with impacts on quality of life, we currently have no method to confirm pathology. However, the incorporation of histopathology with their donors’ history and gross pathology will allow students to confirm cellular pathology and assist in telling their donors’ story. Therefore, the goal of this proposal is to incorporate histopathology into the existing FPP to promote diagnosis skills, understanding of pathology, and to further humanize anatomical dissection. It is expected the addition of this histopathology content will improve their anatomical understanding as well as their knowledge of pathological process of disease in a humanistic fashion.
