Homaira M. Azim

Background: Traditional didactic methods in health sciences education are increasingly being replaced by active learning strategies such as Team-Based Learning (TBL), which promotes engagement through collaboration, knowledge application, and peer interaction. Although the effectiveness of TBL in improving academic outcomes and teamwork skills is well established, less is known about how students experience this format and what influences their engagement. This study addresses that gap by exploring the cognitive, motivational, and social factors that shape students’ perceptions of and responses to TBL. Methods: Study participants included students from two separate offerings of the same graduate histology course (Cohort A: n = 28; Cohort B: n = 27). All students enrolled were invited to participate in the study by completing an open-ended questionnaire and/or participating in a focus group. Eleven students completed the open-ended questionnaire (5 from Cohort A; 6 from Cohort B), and 18 participated in the focus groups (7 from Cohort A; 11 from Cohort B). Qualitative data were analyzed using an abductive approach, incorporating frame and taxonomic analyses. Results: Four key themes were identified as conditions influencing students’ engagement with TBL: (1) preparation and self-regulated learning, (2) understanding and valuing teamwork, (3) student motivation, and (4) attitudes toward active learning. Conclusion: Grounded in constructivist learning theory, TBL can offer a transformative educational experience by promoting self-regulation, collaboration, and deeper engagement. However, its success depends on factors such as student readiness, team cohesion, and prior exposure to active learning, which underscores the need for deliberate instructional design, explicit student orientation, and consistent faculty facilitation to ensure effective implementation.

Early clinical exposure (ECE) has been associated with increased confidence, professionalism, and career exploration in undergraduate medical education. Student-run free clinics (SRFCs), such as the Health Outreach Project (HOP) at Drexel University College of Medicine, provide opportunities for preclinical students to engage in patient care and community outreach. This qualitative study explored medical students’ perceptions of participation in HOP. Fourteen third- and fourth-year medical students with prior HOP experience participated in four semi-structured focus groups conducted virtually over Zoom. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Four major themes emerged: (1) early clinical exposure and clinical skills development, (2) community engagement and patient-centered perspectives, (3) professional identity formation and career exploration, and (4) opportunities, limitations, and emotional challenges of outreach work. Participants described HOP as an important source of authentic clinical exposure that increased confidence in patient interactions and broadened awareness of social determinants of health and underserved populations. Students also reflected on the influence of HOP on professional identity formation, career interests, and perspectives on patient-centered care, while acknowledging frustrations related to systemic barriers and limited resources. These findings suggest that students perceive SRFCs as valuable experiential learning environments that support clinical preparedness and professional development early in medical training.

Background: Human dissection remains a cornerstone of anatomy education, providing students with an early and profound encounter with the dead. Beyond technical skill acquisition, students must navigate the challenge of engaging with donor bodies in ways that are respectful, professional, and emotionally sustainable. Given the formative role of dissection in professional identity formation, this study explored the strategies students adopt in interacting with donor bodies and the motivations guiding these choices. Methods: All medical students (M1–M4) at a single institution were invited to participate, and recruitment was closed after 44 students volunteered for either an interview or focus group. Of these, 24 joined focus groups and 20 completed individual semi-structured interviews. Sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed using inductive coding. Results: Analysis revealed four main strategies employed by students: (1) complete objectification of the donor as a non-living entity; (2) active desensitization to facilitate dissection; (3) overwhelming personification that impeded both learning and technical performance; and (4) middle-ground approaches involving oscillation between desensitization and personification. Conclusion: These findings highlight the diversity of strategies medical students use to engage with donor bodies in the anatomy lab and underscore the importance of recognizing and supporting this variation to foster ethical, compassionate learning environments and professional identity formation.

Medical professionalism is a core component of medical education, yet it remains conceptually ambiguous and inconsistently articulated across institutions, cultures and training contexts. Although students are expected to demonstrate professionalism as part of professional identity formation, the meanings and expectations associated with professionalism are often implicit, variable and shaped by both formal curricula and the hidden curriculum. This qualitative study examined how medical students articulate and make sense of professionalism during undergraduate medical training using a discourse-informed analytical approach. All students (M1–M4) at a single US medical school were invited to participate, and recruitment concluded after 44 students volunteered. Data were collected through 20 individual semistructured interviews and four focus groups, and transcripts were analysed inductively to identify recurring ways professionalism was articulated in students’ accounts. Analysis revealed three recurring ways professionalism circulated in student discourse: (1) definable and actionable, in which professionalism was described through observable behaviours such as punctuality, dress and communication; (2) inherently subjective, where professionalism was framed as situational, relational and shaped by cultural or interpersonal expectations; and (3) uncertain and confusing, characterised by difficulty articulating a coherent understanding and by the expansion of professionalism into broader expectations of self-presentation and image management. Across these accounts, students most often articulated professionalism in physician-centred terms, emphasising self-regulation, appearance, composure and evaluability, reflecting the institutional and assessment contexts of early medical training. This study demonstrates that medical students encounter professionalism through multiple coexisting ways of understanding that circulate within medical education and are variably taken up as students navigate professional expectations. By shifting analytical attention away from defining what professionalism should be and toward examining how professionalism is articulated and taken up in practice, a discourse-informed approach offers a productive framework for understanding professional identity formation in contemporary medical education.

Background: Human dissection in medical education presents an ethically complex terrain shaped by institutional norms, peer culture, and personal values. While formal codes and donor protections have evolved, little is known about how students themselves define and interpret ethical conduct in the gross anatomy lab. This qualitative study explored medical students’ perceptions of ethical behavior during dissection. Methods: Twenty students from all four years of medical school at a single U.S. institution participated in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. Transcripts were analyzed inductively using open coding to identify recurring themes. Credibility was enhanced through analyst triangulation, reflexive dialogue, and use of illustrative quotes. Results: Three overarching themes emerged: (1) Ethical practices were linked to faculty role-modeling, peer and self-monitoring, and mindfulness during dissection; (2) Unethical practices included inappropriate jokes, careless handling of donor bodies, and unprofessional behavior; and (3) Ethically challenging situations involved uncertainty about donor consent, tension between objectification and personification of the body, and unspoken norms discouraging emotional expression. These dynamics often went unaddressed by formal instruction or policy, leaving students to navigate them independently. Conclusions: Students engage with dissection not only as a technical task but also as a moral experience. While institutional rules and professional standards are necessary, they are often insufficient on their own to help students smoothly navigate the ethical and emotional complexities of the anatomy lab. Anatomy education should incorporate structured opportunities for ethical and emotional reflection, reinforce transparency around body donation, and foster a culture that validates emotional responses. These practices may better support professional identity formation and align ethical conduct with students’ lived experiences.

Background: Social networking platforms offer promising educational value, particularly for undergraduate students whose daily lives are deeply embedded in online spaces. Yet in most courses, instructional technologies remain limited to institutional learning management systems (LMSs), which often do not foster informal interaction or community. This study examined whether supplementing LMSs with a Facebook group could enhance academic outcomes and retention in undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses. Methods: Over two semesters, two student cohorts (n = 39) were taught by the same instructor using identical materials; one cohort also used a closed Facebook group for course-related engagement. Results: While final course grades were not significantly different between groups (p = 0.186), students in the Facebook cohort scored significantly higher on mid-semester unit exams (p < 0.001 to p = 0.006). Regression analysis revealed a 9.4% higher mean final course grade among Facebook users. Importantly, the pass rate in the Facebook cohort was 94.7% compared to 45.0% in the control group, with dropout rates significantly lower (5.3% vs. 55%, p = 0.001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that incorporating social media into undergraduate science instruction may promote academic success and retention by providing a familiar, collaborative space for active learning and peer support.

Social networking platforms offer promising educational value, particularly for undergraduate students whose daily lives are deeply embedded in online spaces. Yet in most courses, instructional technologies remain limited to institutional learning management systems (LMS), which often do not foster informal interaction or community. This study examined whether supplementing LMS with a Facebook group could enhance academic outcomes and retention in undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses. Over two semesters, two student cohorts (N = 39) were taught by the same instructor using identical materials; one cohort also used a closed Facebook group for course-related engagement. Students in the Facebook cohort scored significantly higher on mid-semester unit exams (p < .001 to p = .006). Though final course grades were not significantly different (p = .186), regression analysis revealed a 9.4% higher mean final grade among Facebook users. Importantly, the pass rate in the Facebook cohort was 94.7% compared to 45% in the control group, with dropout rates significantly lower (5.3% vs. 55%, p = .001). These findings suggest that incorporating social media into undergraduate science instruction may promote academic success and retention by providing a familiar, collaborative space for active learning and peer support.

Anatomy can be rapidly forgotten without repetition and retrieval. With an overall decrease in time allotment for teaching discrete subjects, longitudinal integration of anatomy throughout medical curricula is a more effective approach. This study sought to assess the efficacy of spaced repetition in an integrated anatomy elective. An advanced anatomy elective course was designed for second-year medical students at one medical school. Spaced repetition was utilized to review gross and radiological anatomy. A total of 21 students participated in 2022 and 2023. Student reflections were collected via an online survey and focus group interviews. Qualitative data was thematically analyzed using an abductive coding scheme. Major themes and subthemes were identified via cross-case analyses. Survey results showed that 95% of students felt better prepared for USMLE Step 1 after taking this elective. Strongest aspects of the course were identified as: 1) reviewing anatomy in the context of medical imaging, 2) revisiting anatomy lab as teaching assistants, 3) reinforcing foundational and multidisciplinary basic science concepts using clinical case questions. Overall findings based on both phases of data analysis indicated that participation in the elective increased student confidence in preparation for Step 1 and helped solidify their understanding of foundational anatomical knowledge while also enhancing metacognition. An anatomy elective course can serve as an efficient and effective step toward longitudinal integration of anatomy in undergraduate medical curricula. Future research is needed to assess the quantitative impact of this educational intervention on long-term learning and student performance on Step 1.