121 - Bridging Prosection and Radiology: Assessing the Impact of Integrating Radiological Questions in Gross Anatomy Lab Practical for Medical Students

Poster Board Number: 121
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Asma Syed - School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Rozena Shirvani-Arani - School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Padmanabhan Rengasamy, Ph.D. - Professor, Medical Education, School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Rajendra Conjeevaram, M.D. - Professor, Medical Education, School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Abstract Body :
Introduction: Anatomy serves as the cornerstone of medical education. Recent studies suggest that incorporating radiological imaging into gross anatomy teaching enhances medical students' learning experience and assessment performance. The Language of Medicine (LOM, MEDI - 8519) at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine, is a comprehensive course covering topographic, clinically oriented anatomy, embryology, microscopic anatomy, and neuroanatomy. This study aims to assess the impact of integrating radiology into the LOM gross anatomy lab practical, investigating whether the inclusion of radiological questions improves overall student performance. Materials and Methods: Two years of students (around 120 students), class of 2026 and class of 2027, were included in this study. Assessment included a multiple-choice NBME written exam and an open-response lab practical. The lab practical consisted of two-thirds prosection identification questions and one-third radiological questions involving digital images of either X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, or ultrasound images. Module-wise comparisons were made between scores on prosection and radiological questions. SPSS software Amos was used for statistical analysis, p < 0.05 was set for statistical significance. Results: Analysis of results revealed a consistently higher performance by students on prosection questions (mean scores ranging 80.73-94.42%) compared to radiological questions (mean scores ranging 59.62-82.36%), p < 0.05. A marginal improvement in performance on radiology questions was observed in the initial modules for both classes (class of 2026 and class of 2027). Furthermore, the incorporation of radiological questions increased the difficulty levels of the lab practical, with variations noted between modules. Conclusion: Recognizing and interpreting medical images is crucial for future physicians. A majority of program directors expect trainees at minimum to be able to recognize and interpret normal from abnormal conditions in radiological images, however, many trainees lack these skills. Integrating radiology into anatomy teaching not only enhances understanding but also bridges the gap between prosection and living body, and students develop skills of interpreting basic images in medical school. Including radiology content in lab practical assessments can further enrich the learning experience. Our findings suggest that challenges in student performance when incorporating radiology into assessments are module-dependent. This study provides valuable insights for designing effective radiology teaching methods based on student performance and teaching content, particularly in the context of reduced anatomy hours in our pre-clerkship curriculum.