Student Opinions on Interdisciplinary Team Teaching of Anatomy in a Medical, Dental, and Physical Therapy School.

Abstract

While some health science professional programs may utilize a team to teach anatomy, they are often anatomists or professionals from the same field. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of health professional students on the incorporation of interdisciplinary team teaching comprised primarily of an anatomist, physical therapist, and a medical doctor to collectively teach a small group anatomy curriculum. The medical students (MS; N_{Class of 2025} = 179 and N_{Class of 2026} = 174), dental students (DS; N_{Class of 2027} = 90), and physical therapy students (PT; N_{Class of 2027} = 25) were enrolled in a human anatomy course between January 2023 and December 2023 and were invited to participate in this survey. Most students affirmed that each team member provided diverse perspectives to apply the anatomy to clinical settings, offering valuable insights and guidance for upper-level courses and their careers. They acknowledged that different team members excelled in specific content areas, and even though students did not often specifically target a faculty member for various topics, collectively, the diverse teaching team aided in facilitating a well-rounded learning experience. Students expressed high satisfaction with their professional school anatomy course, which was co-taught by an interdisciplinary team. Although students had access to faculty from different professions, they generally did not seek out specific faculty for field-related inquiries. They preferred to interact with the main teaching faculty, which included the primary anatomist, medical doctor, and physical therapist.