A prosection-based surgical anatomy training session that improves medical student anatomical knowledge and confidence on the surgery clerkship

Purposes Evaluate the effect of a 4-h prosection-based surgical anatomy training session on medical student anatomical knowledge and confidence. Compare the effect of the training between two student cohorts. Methods Two cohorts participated in the study. “Legacy” students received a 91-h dissection-based anatomy course in their pre-clinical curriculum. “NextGen” students received 14 h of pre-clinical anatomy training without dissection. Both cohorts participated in the surgical anatomy training session during their surgery clerkship. The session consisting of six stations: anterior abdominal wall, hepatobiliary, stomach/small intestine, colon/rectum, neck/breast, and cardiothoracic. Pre- and post-session tests assessed student confidence in and knowledge of surgical anatomy. Results Two hundred and ninety four medical students completed the anatomy training. Overall scores increased 21% from pre-test (50 ± 19%) to post-test (71 ± 17%, p < 0.001). NextGen students scored lower than Legacy medical students on both the pre-test (44 ± 17% vs. 58 ± 20%, p < 0.001) and post-test (65 ± 16% vs. 81 ± 15%, p < 0.001). Student’s confidence in their understanding of general surgical anatomy improved from a Likert score of 2 [1–3] pre-session to 3 [2–4] post-session, p < 0.001. Compared to Legacy Students, NextGen students reported lower confidence pre-session (1 [1–2] vs. 3 [2–4], p < 0.001) and post-session (3 [2–4] vs. 4 [4–4], p < 0.001). Conclusions This innovative prosection-based surgical anatomy teaching model demonstrates an effective method to improve medical student knowledge of, and confidence in, surgical anatomy. However, the difference in performance between the two student cohorts demonstrates that prosection-based teaching cannot replace or fully compensate for a pre-clinical, dissection-based anatomy curriculum.