Healthcare Profession Student Internet Usage in the Gross Anatomy Lab Setting
1Physical Therapy Program, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO2Modern Human Anatomy Program, Dept of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
#ESIS2016
Background
Objective
Methods
Results ConclusionsPersonal computer use for educational purposes by students of healthcare professions has become ubiquitous. Although the effect of computer-based dissection instructions has been studied (Reeves et al. 2004), there is a paucity of information regarding student usage of the vast amount of anatomical information available on the internet. Although today’s students have favourable attitudes toward accessing anatomical information online (Barry et al. 2015), internet usage patterns have not yet been investigated specifically in the gross anatomy lab setting.
To describe the browsing characteristics of healthcare profession students in the gross anatomy setting.
These preliminary analyses demonstrate a large volume of internet usage by healthcare profession students in the gross anatomy lab. A wide diversity of anatomy- and non-anatomy related websites were visited.
These findings suggest that students primarily use internet access to seek information about specific structures they are dissecting in cadaver lab.
Future analyses will include examination of when in relation to class time students accessed the information (e.g., in preparation for or during class), how usage changes over time, and what anatomical structures were most commonly searched for.
In addition, future analysis should examine the accuracy of information students are viewing to determine if students need guidance on appraising anatomical information they find on the internet.
AcknowledgementsThanks to Kalie Petefish for assisting with webpage categorization and to Scott and Jomana Malone for writing the custom ruby code.
References
Mike Pascoe, PhD1, 2
Figure 2. Photograph depicting the location of the iMac computer adjacent to a dissection table in the gross anatomy lab.
History.PLIST
x 24.rb
.CSV
Figure 1. Procedures for obtaining and analyzing web browser history. Computers were used during gross anatomy courses for PT, PA, MD, DDS, MHA and AA students. These procedures were deemed exempt from human subjects research by the COMIRB (protocol# 15-0662).
Barry, DS et al. (2016). Anatomy education for the YouTube generation. Anat Sci Edu, 9: 90-96.
Reeves, RE et al. (2004). Improved dissection efficiency in the human gross anatomy laboratory by the integration of computers and modern technology. Clin Anat, 17: 337–344.
Figure 3. Categorical breakdown of the 100,857 webpages visited on the 24 iMacs from June 2013 to January 2015 (~600 days). Primary categories given in bold with examples listed below.
Google search,anatomy relatedLeft crus of diaphragmTransversus thoracisWhy gallbladder greenSpinal cord vessels
Google search,non-anatomy relatedJudge Judy net worthMale Disney scrubsSean ConneryNeurosurgeon salary
OtherQuizlet flashcards
CraigslistAmazonPubMed
Productivityservices
Cloud hostingEmail
CanvasUniv webpages
Entertainmentservices
Music streamingYouTube
Social media
25.1%
15.9%
16.4%
20.6%
22.0%
URL Date/Time # Visits
USB
Results
Per iMac Per Day(N = 24) (N = 600)
Webpage visits 100,857 4,202 ± 2,483 168(19 - 7,968)
Unique webpages 36,587 1,524 ± 945 61(12 - 3,407)
Total
Table 1. Summary of webpage visits and unique webpages analyzed, per iMac and per day (June 2013 - January 2015). Per iMac are mean ± standard deviation (minimum to maximum values).
Table 2. Subcategorization of a sample of 1,000 (total = 22,146) anatomy-related Google search terms.
Subcategory Example search term Count Percent of sample
Structure Conus medularis 750 75.0%Region Blood supply to bladder 144 14.4%Clinical concept Abdominal aorta bypass graft material 44 4.4%Resource Bergman atlas anatomy variation 25 2.5%Concept Circle of Willis 23 2.3%Terminology Arcuate definition 14 1.4%
