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Both medical and veterinary students find that the use of cadavers is critical to learning anatomical structures and surgical techniques. The use of human cadavers and the resulting user emotions are driven by serious ethical issues that are currently much less pronounced in veterinary education. Ethically sourced canine cadavers, thus, are more readily available. Aesthetics such as odor and visual appearance, though, influence both learner and educator motivation. We have investigated a way of delaying cadaver decomposition by post-mortem in situ, chemical-free, gastrointestinal lavage. We are convinced that canine cadavers, conditioned as described here, will improve the outcome of cadaver-based surgical skills training by facilitating preparation, reducing the number of required cadavers, postponing decomposition, improving the surgeon's haptic-tactile response to organ and tissue handling and suturing, and, possibly most importantly, increasing learners' and educators' focus due to the significantly improved aesthetics. We hypothesize that skill transfer for medical students and doctors, because of the similar abdominal anatomy, may be easier when training with conditioned canine cadavers as compared to artificial simulators or pigs in vivo.

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provided our institution a unique opportunity to develop a new procedural curriculum for our fourth-year, emergency medicine-bound medical students. A significant portion of our ED's fourth-year elective has traditionally been centered in our simulation center, using high-fidelity simulation models to practice important emergency medicine procedures. Due to the pandemic, the simulation center was unavailable for our use, and this new curriculum was created in an effort to fill this gap in procedural education.

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BACKGROUND: Acquisition of Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) are essential for medical students. The objective was to determine it's fidelity impact. METHODS: Using four suturing models (SM) (pigskin, sponge, commercial pad, and orange), SM-quality and student-SM interaction were evaluated. After a 1-h class, participants were divided into groups and randomly assigned exercises in SM in 15-min intervals. The experiment included completing three individual simple stitches and a 3-stitch continuous suture in each SM. RESULTS: Eighty-two medical students participated. Suturing quality was better in pigskin and sponge, which were also the preferred models (p < 0.001). Significant differences in quality between the insertion and exit point, and firmness of knots (p < 0.05) in both simple and continuous sutures, as well as between length and distance in continuous ones (p < 0.001) were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Acquisition and quality of BSS are influenced by the intrinsic characteristics of SM. An adequate degree of resistance, consistency, and elasticity are necessary.

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Knowledge of embryology is foundational for understanding normal anatomy and birth defects, yet, embryology is a notoriously difficult subject for medical students. Embryonic lateral folding in particular is one of the most challenging concepts in embryology. Highly effective teaching methods that promote active engagement with dynamic, three-dimensional models may be helpful for teaching this content. The aim of this study was to determine whether a hands-on modeling activity utilizing premade crocheted pieces constructed from durable, inexpensive yarn helped medical students enrolled in a pre-matriculation course to understand embryonic lateral folding. Change in knowledge was assessed using a pre-post design. Students also completed subjective evaluations regarding their satisfaction with the activity. Quiz scores in means (±SD) increased from 62.7 (±24.1) % before the activity to 77.0 (±17.1) % after the activity (P = 0.0495, two-tailed paired t test; d = 0.68). Generally, students reported that the activity was helpful and enjoyable, and the model pieces were easy to manipulate. These promising results suggest that hands-on activities with dynamic, three-dimensional models constitute an effective method for teaching embryology.

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Two self-made low-fidelity models for simulation of canine intubation and canine female urinary catheterization were developed and evaluated. We used a study design that compares acquired skills of two intervention groups and one control group in a practical examination. Fifty-eight second-year veterinary medicine students received a theoretical introduction to intubation and were randomly divided into three groups. Group I (high-fidelity) was then trained on a commercially available Intubation Training Manikin (item #2006, Veteffects), group II (low-fidelity) was trained on our low-fidelity model, and group III (text) read a text describing intubation of the dog. Forty-seven fifth-year veterinary medicine students followed the same procedure for training urinary catheterization using the commercially available Female Urinary Catheter Training Manikin (Paws 2 Claws), our self-made model, and text. Outcomes were assessed in a practical examination on a cadaver using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) checklist. Considering a value of p≤.05 significant, intervention groups performed significantly better than the text groups. Group I (high-fidelity) and group II (low-fidelity) showed no significant differences (p≤.684, intubation; p≤.901, urinary catheterization). We thereby conclude that low-fidelity models can be as effective as high-fidelity models for clinical skills training.

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A teaching tool that facilitates student understanding of a three-dimensional (3D) integration of dermatomes with peripheral cutaneous nerve field distributions is described. This model is inspired by the confusion in novice learners between dermatome maps and nerve field distribution maps. This confusion leads to the misconception that these two distribution maps fully overlap, and may stem from three sources: (1) the differences in dermatome maps in anatomical textbooks, (2) the limited views in the figures of dermatome maps and cutaneous nerve field maps, hampering the acquisition of a 3D picture, and (3) the lack of figures showing both maps together. To clarify this concept, the learning process can be facilitated by transforming the 2D drawings in textbooks to a 3D hands-on model and by merging the information from the separate maps. Commercially available models were covered with white cotton pantyhose, and borders between dermatomes were marked using the drawings from the students' required study material. Distribution maps of selected peripheral nerves were cut out from color transparencies. Both the model and the cut-out nerve fields were then at the students' disposal during a laboratory exercise. The students were instructed to affix the transparencies in the right place according to the textbook's figures. This model facilitates integrating the spatial relationships of the two types of nerve distributions. By highlighting the spatial relationship and aiming to provoke student enthusiasm, this model follows the advantages of other low-fidelity models.

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