| American medical institutions are permitted to experiment with a variety of educational programs and academic methodologies. This freedom allows medical and anatomy educationalists to explore and address a variety of issues relating to curriculum development, implementation, and assessment. The present research has embraced these liberties, in the interest of the student, to investigate and analyze the effectiveness of two independent teaching methodologies.;In 2008, a blended clinical laboratory exercise was offered to all second-year medical students. During the course of this experiment, students were introduced to clinical procedures, reviewed anatomy, and were reminded of the fundamental role that anatomy plays in clinical practice. Results indicate that students who were a part of this exercise gained a better review of anatomy than the traditional control group, learned clinical skills, and gained an appreciation for the importance of anatomy in clinical training. The latter half of this thesis analyzed the use of the potential benefits and repercussions of implementing an alternating dissection approach in the anatomy laboratory. Implementation of an alternating schedule was found to be beneficial for students and faculty alike and was not detrimental to student performance.;This work has highlighted the anatomical foundations for clinical practice and has provided evidence that alternating dissection schedules are comparable to traditional methods. As a whole, this thesis has contributed empirically to the literature regarding the preservation and advancement of American medical education. |
