Distinction in Anatomy - Description

Distinction in Anatomy Program

Purpose:

Students with a special interest in advanced instruction in anatomy may apply for the PLFSOM Distinction in Anatomy Program during the 2nd semester of their MS1 year. Students must demonstrate an ability to succeed in the core curriculum as a prerequisite to acceptance into the Distinction in Anatomy Program. Students interested in the elective Distinction in Anatomy Program must fulfill the program's general and anatomy-specific criteria, seen below, and submit a complete application by April 1st of the MS1 year.

Eligibility Criteria:

Students participating in other formally defined curriculum programs or dual-degree programs are not eligible for the Distinction in Anatomy Program; however, qualified participants may also apply for Distinction in Research. All students in good academic standing and with a good record of professionalism are eligible to apply for the Distinction in Anatomy Program. Students placed on Academic Watch Level 2 are not eligible for the Distinction in Anatomy Program and must withdraw from the program if enrolled. Students who fail any remediation, or semester, of any required course are not eligible for the Distinction in Anatomy Program and must withdraw from the program if enrolled. Students who have recorded issues with professionalism verified by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs are not eligible for the Distinction in Anatomy Program and must withdraw from the program if enrolled.

MS1 Year

Acceptance Process and Criteria:

The application deadline is April 1st of the MS1 year. Acceptance is competitive and determined by a committee consisting of the participating anatomy faculty members, the Chair of the Department of Medical Education, the Associate Dean for Medical Education, and the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Acceptance is to be based primarily on the applicant's general academic record; an essay explaining the applicant's motivation and professional goals as related to the Distinction in Anatomy Program; and the applicant's performance on anatomy summative exam items.

Capacity:

The number of students accepted for the Distinction in Anatomy Program is to be determined each year by the participating anatomy faculty members and the Chair of the Department of Medical Education, with final approval by the Associate Dean for Medical Education.

MS1/2 Summer Break

The summer dissections for the Distinction in Anatomy program are intended to provide the student with a firm foundation in clinically oriented human gross anatomy. This is a 6-week course that incorporates self-directed learning materials that prepare the student for each day's lab experience, followed by dissection labs that expose the student to the detailed structure of the human body, and completed by review of the material using organized learning materials after lab. These dissections will potentially be used in general anatomical instruction in the following year.

Labs will begin each morning at 8am in MEB 4120, except when there is a practical exam. There will be a short quiz (do not be late - there are no make-up quizzes), followed by a brief overview of the day's dissection. After the overview, we will perform the day's dissection. Labs are scheduled from 8am-noon on most days, although some of the dissections will take time in the afternoon to complete. Practical exams are scheduled for 3pm.

Lectures and prelab learning modules are online at: anatomy.elpaso.ttuhsc.edu. Students should review the narrated PowerPoint lab overview lectures and the prelab learning modules, and watch the online dissection videos, before coming to labs. The daily quiz questions will be drawn from the online lectures and prelab learning material. Students should use the computers in the gross anatomy lab to review dissection procedures and adhere closely to the instructions in the online Lab Manual when performing dissections. Students must make records of their dissections on the forms provided, including notes and photographs of any pathology, evidence of surgery, and anatomical variation. After lab, students should use the online Dissector Answers to review the material dissected that day, and review any Learning Modules assigned to the lab. The final step in reviewing is to look over the online Review Questions. Grades will be based on the average of all of the prelab quizzes, together representing 25% of the grade, and the average of all of the practical exams, together representing 75% of the grade. Up to 5% bonus credit may be awarded for the quality and completeness of dissections and dissection records, the care of the cadaver, and cleanliness of the tank and surroundings. Distinction students need to attain a minimum course average of 70% to remain in the program.

The schedule for the anatomy labs to be completed in the MS1 summer break follows:

Week 1:
Introduction; Superficial Back; Deep Back & Spinal Cord
Pectoral Region & Breast; Posterior Shoulder, Axilla, & Arm
Forearm; Wrist & Hand
Joints of Back and Upper Limbs

Week 2:
Practical Exam 1
Anterior & Medial Thigh; Hip & Posterior Thigh & Leg
Anterior Leg & Foot
Joints of the Lower Limbs

Week 3:
Practical Exam 2
Thoracic Wall, Pleura, & Pericardium
Heart
Superior Mediastinum & Lungs
Posterior Mediastinum

Week 4: Practical Exam 3
Abdominal Wall; Inguinal Region
Peritoneal Cavity & Intestines; Stomach & Spleen
Duodenum, Pancreas, Liver, & Gallbladder
Kidneys & Retroperitoneum

Week 5:
Practical Exam 4
Pelvic Viscera; Pelvic Muscles & Neurovasculature
Perineum
Practical Exam 5
Anterior Triangle of the Neck; Posterior Triangle & Root of the Neck

Week 6:
Larynx & Pharynx
Scalp, Cranial Cavity, & Brain
Parotid Gland & Face; Infratemporal Fossa & Oral Cavity
Orbit & Eye; Ear & Nasal Cavity
Practical Exam 6

Participating students are each required to develop an anatomy-based research project, which may also serve as the student's SARP project if desired. Anatomy-based research projects may entail studies of anatomical variations, development and testing of novel anatomical teaching materials, investigations of modifications to surgical procedures or invasive techniques, or the relationship of anatomy to other fields of medicine, such as radiology, anesthesiology, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, etc.

MS2 Year

Students will participate in a limited number of MS1 and MS2 anatomy labs as teaching assistants. TA obligations will be shared, and will be coordinated by the supervising anatomy faculty as follows:
Students must take the TTUHSC Anatomy Cumulative Exam (ACE) within 2 weeks of finishing the core MS2 curriculum (including exams). Students must score at or above 75% on the ACE. If unsuccessful, students may remediate this requirement by re-taking the exam prior to the end of the first semester of the MS4 year. Students are also required to schedule and take the NBME Anatomy Subject exam within a week of the ACE in order to benchmark their performance against a national measure of competence.

Distinction in Anatomy Program students will, under the supervision of the anatomy faculty, develop and administer practical examinations, based on the faculty and student prosections, to be offered on an optional basis to MS1 and MS2 students at the end of every SPM Unit in which anatomy is presented.

MS3 Year

If necessary, students will continue to work on their anatomy based research project. When the project is completed, the student will submit their anatomy scholarship for peer-reviewed publication or presentation at a regional or national meeting. Poster or platform presentation at a regional or national conference is the minimum requirement for the research component of the Distinction in Anatomy Program.

MS4 Year

Distinction in Anatomy Program students will be required to enroll in and successfully complete a clinical or surgical anatomy elective of at least 2 weeks in length. If not already completed, students will submit their anatomy scholarship for peer-reviewed publication or presentation at a regional or national meeting. Acceptance of the journal submission is not required; however, a poster presentation at a regional or national conference is the minimum requirement for the research component. If necessary, students will remediate the ACE exam prior to the end of the first semester of the MS4 year.

Distinction

Upon successful completion of all the above outlined elements of the Distinction in Anatomy Program, with review and verification by the program committee (as described above for the acceptance process), students will receive either a designation of "Distinction in Anatomy" on their diplomas or a notation in their official transcript indicating completion of the Distinction in Anatomy Program (to be determined based on TTUHSCEP and TTU System academic policies).

Summary of Requirements for Distinction in Anatomy
  1. Perform all required dissections - Summer MS1
  2. Attain a minimum average score of 70% for graded components of the dissection experience - Summer MS1
  3. Identify an anatomy-related research project - Summer MS1
  4. Serve as a teaching assistant in 4 anatomy labs for MS! and MS2 students - MS2
  5. Help to prepare and administer optional practical exams for each SPM unit - MS2
  6. Pass the TTUHSC Anatomy Cumulative Exam at 75% and take the NBME Anatomy Subject Exam - End of MS2 (remediate ACE in fall of MS4, if needed)
  7. Present and/or publish anatomy-related research project findings - MS3 or MS4