Gross and Applied Anatomy Pedagogical Approaches in Occupational Therapy Education: A Scoping Review.
Erica Dove, Kelly Hennessy, Athena Kirou-Mauro and 4 others
PMID 37680142WHAT IT FOUND
Occupational therapy anatomy education uses a mix of traditional labs and new technology, but no single method is proven superior.
Peer teaching and psychological support before cadaver labs helped students, yet evidence linking these methods to actual clinical practice skills remains missing.
Key findings
01Laboratory-based instruction with cadavers and lectures remain the most common teaching methods, used in 89% and 64% of included reports respectively.
02Psychological support before cadaver labs was associated with reduced anxiety and higher academic performance in three studies.
03No Canadian entry-level masters programs offer a standalone anatomy course, and it is unclear how classroom anatomy knowledge translates to clinical practice outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The review included older literature (back to 1978) which may not reflect current best practices. Most included studies were observational or quasi-experimental, not randomized controlled trials. Outcomes measured were almost exclusively academic (grades, exams), with no data on clinical competence or patient outcomes. The consultation exercise had a low response rate from Canadian programs (57%). Heterogeneity in study designs and populations prevented a statistical meta-analysis.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that any specific anatomy teaching method (like apps or cadaver labs) has been proven to make you a better clinician. The evidence only shows these methods improve exam scores and student satisfaction, not clinical practice outcomes.