Jarrod D. Fair; Laura C. Boucher; Celine M. Agnor & Joy Y. Balta

Anatomy and clinical skills are taught separately to physical and occupational therapy students. Formaldehyde is the primary chemical used to embalm donors which creates a challenge in integrating clinical skills into the anatomy curriculum. This study aimed to evaluate the integration of clinical skills into anatomical education using Imperial College London- Soft Preservation (ICL-SP) and formaldehyde embalming through the evaluation of student perceived learning and confidence. Students were invited to complete a survey after dissecting an ICL-SP and formaldehyde embalmed donors and perform clinical tests. It was easier to dissect and identify neurovascular structures on ICL-SP donors compared to formaldehyde. Clinical tests, like measuring range of motion and ligament tests were also more realistic on ICL-SP donors. The integration of clinical skills in the anatomical curriculum increased student perceived understanding of associated anatomy (p < 0.001), gave better understanding of how anatomy is important to their professions (p < 0.001) and increased motivation to learn anatomy (p < 0.001). The integration of clinical skills into anatomical education can facilitate student learning with higher confidence performing clinical skills and is complemented by the utilization of the new ICL-SP methodology instead of the traditional formaldehyde preservation.

KEY WORDS: Anatomy; Physical Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Education; Soft Preservation; Integrated Curriculum.

FAIR, J. D.; BOUCHER, L. C.; AGNOR, C. M. & BALTA, J. Y. Anatomical and clinical education in physical and occupational therapy: Influence of integration and soft preservation. Int. J. Morphol., 41(6):1587-1595, 2023.