Shilpa Karkera¹*, Nagadharshan Devendra², Shashikant Adlekha³ and Bhavesh Lakhani⁴

¹Associate professor, Chair, Internal Assessment Review Committee, Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy, St Vincent and Grenadines
²Associate Dean Basic Sciences and Associate professor, Department of Biochemistry, Trinity Medical Sciences University, Saint Vincent and Grenadines
³Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Trinity Medical Sciences University, Saint Vincent and Grenadines
⁴MD 4 th Term student, Trinity School of Medicine, Trinity Medical Sciences University, St Vincent and Grenadines

*Corresponding Author: Shilpa Karkera, Associate professor, Chair, Internal Assessment Review Committee, Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy, St Vincent and Grenadines.

Received: April 15, 2024; Published: May 16, 2024

Abstract

Introduction: Procuring medical students as peer tutors (PT) in an Anatomy Med course is regarded as beneficial to both students and peer tutors. A PT program has been implemented at TMSU and was shown to enhance the development of core competencies of medical students. This study observes the effectiveness of PTs and categorizes specific ways in which to improve their teaching.

Methods: A survey was sent to 120 Pre Med Transition term (PM) students taking BIOS 205: Introduction to Anatomy at Trinity Biomedical sciences. Questions included positively and negatively framed items related to Anatomy dissection. Responses were graded on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 90 responses were recorded.

Results: The PreMed students(PM) indicated that PTs contributed positively to their learning (90% of respondents), and 10% believed that this experience motivated them to follow a similar role in the future. On the other hand, 11% of PM respondents noted that PTs occasionally provided incorrect information, and 2% of respondents noted that PTs were often inaccessible when approached.

Discussion: Inclusion of medical students as PTs in the dissection laboratory and review sessions is an effective method for enhancing anatomy education. Revealing potential issues with medical student PTs requires the use of targeted questions, rather than limiting evaluations to general items. Our records suggest that PTs should prepare for teaching, acknowledge gaps in knowledge, and emphasis on maintaining a professional approach in the anatomy dissection laboratory.

Keywords: Peer Tutoring; Anatomy; Medical Education; Premed Transitional Term; Interprofessional Education

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Citation

Citation: Shilpa Karkera., et al. “Developing Medical Students as Teaching Assistants: An Anatomy-Based Student-As-Teacher Program with Emphasis on Core Teaching Competencies, its Effectiveness and Improvement".Acta Scientific Anatomy 3.5 (2024): 12-16.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Shilpa Karkera., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.