Evaluating the effectiveness of integrating radiological and cross‑sectional anatomy in first‑year medical students – A randomized, crossover study
Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2020, Pages 1-7
. R. Rajprasath, . V. Dinesh Kumar, . Magi Murugan, . Bhavani Prasad Goriparthi, . Rema Devi
Abstract CONTEXT: Radiological anatomy (RA) knowledge is essential for the current‑day clinical practice
due to the rapid development in imaging technologies. As there is a long interval between learning
RA in the 1st year and applying it in their clinical disciplines impedes their functional understanding,
this study has been planned to provide the students with a right mix of anatomy and radiology in
order to promulgate deeper medical comprehension.
AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of integrated RA in honing the radiological
reasoning abilities in 1st year medical students and to develop critical thinking skills through
small‑group, case‑based learning experience.
METHODOLOGY: All the students of 2017–2018 batch were randomized equally into study group
and control group. The study group was exposed to the interactive RA module followed by posttest.
The control group was exposed to traditional teaching and then given posttest. The groups were
flipped for successive regions of anatomy. Feedbacks were obtained by both quantitative and
qualitative methods.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Posttest scores were compared using Student’s t‑test. Feedbacks were
analyzed using descriptive statistics.
RESULTS: The posttest scores were significantly higher in the study group when compared to the
control group. Nearly 92% of the students felt that the integrated module made them learn better and
44% of the students felt that it helped them to apply the knowledge in clinical context.
CONCLUSION: For the present millennial‑generation students, integrated RA lectures help develop
their critical thinking and help in the subsequent clinical years.