Anatomical and Clinical Education in Physical and Occupational Therapy: Influence of Integration and Soft Preservation/Educacion Anatomica y Clinica en Terapia Fisica y Ocupacional: Influencia de la Integracion y la Preservacion Blanda

• Published in: International journal of morphology Vol. 41; no. 6; p. 1587
• Main Authors: Fair, Jarrod D, Boucher, Laura C, Agnor, Celine M, Balta, Joy Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad de La Frontera, Facultad de Medicina 01-11-2023
• ISSN: 0717-9367

Anatomy and clinical skills are taught separately to physical and occupational therapy students. Formaldehyde is the primary chemical used to embalm donors which creates a challenge in integrating clinical skills into the anatomy curriculum. This study aimed to evaluate the integration of clinical skills into anatomical education using Imperial College London- Soft Preservation (ICL-SP) and formaldehyde embalming through the evaluation of student perceived learning and confidence. Students were invited to complete a survey after dissecting an ICL-SP and formaldehyde embalmed donors and perform clinical tests. It was easier to dissect and identify neurovascular structures on ICL-SP donors compared to formaldehyde. Clinical tests, like measuring range of motion and ligament tests were also more realistic on ICL-SP donors. The integration of clinical skills in the anatomical curriculum increased student perceived understanding of associated anatomy (p < 0.001), gave better understanding of how anatomy is important to their professions (p < 0.001) and increased motivation to learn anatomy (p < 0.001). The integration of clinical skills into anatomical education can facilitate student learning with higher confidence performing clinical skills and is complemented by the utilization of the new ICL-SP methodology instead of the traditional formaldehyde preservation. KEY WORDS: Anatomy; Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Education; Soft Preservation; Integrated Curriculum.