Frontloading gross anatomy: impacts on medical student performance

Abstract

Objectives: The human gross anatomy course offered at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, is part of a partially integrated foundational block in the first year of the medical curriculum. The block organization was implemented in 2006 in part to foster the horizontal integration of four basic science courses. However, simultaneous instruction in multiple courses presented a challenging workload to students, especially considering the large amount of information covered in anatomy. In an attempt to improve student outcomes, the gross anatomy course was compressed and frontloaded to the first 13 weeks of the foundational block while instructions of other courses were shifted later to make room for the frontloaded gross anatomy course. To assess the effect of frontloading of anatomy on students’ performance, we retrospectively compared the anatomy examination scores between before and after frontloading of the anatomy content. Methods: Student performance in the gross anatomy course was compared between the pre-frontloading (2013–2015) and post-frontloading (2016–2018) cohorts. Average scores of each examination category (quizzes, midterms, practical and written finals, and overall grades) were calculated and compared between the two cohorts. Results: Scores on the written final and practical final examinations and the overall grade in gross anatomy improved significantly (p<0.05) in the post-frontloading cohort (n=323) compare to the pre-frontloading cohort (n=343). Conclusion: Moving gross anatomy forward and offering a compressed course may be an option for educators looking to improve student performance without increasing student contact hours, concomitantly allowing focused learning and mastery of anatomy content.