Anatomy Bootcamp: Evaluating the Impact of an Intense Anatomy Course on 2nd year Applied Anatomy Students: Presentation at the Centre for Health Sciences Annual Conference, 19th July 2022, Engineers House, Bristol, UK

Restrictions on facilities and face-to-face learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic meant that applied anatomy students did not have the same access to anatomical specimens. As one of several mitigations across the programme, we describe the Bootcamp experience offered to 2nd year students.

The 2nd year of the Applied Anatomy programme has a strong reliance on practically applied teaching. Acknowledging that first-year students had missed opportunities for study in the dissection room, and that the 2nd year of the course built upon this foundational knowledge, the Applied Anatomy Programme decided to create an intense-one-week long anatomy review course (Bootcamp) for the 2nd year cohort. This intense course aimed to expose students to anatomical specimens, build their confidence and strengthen their sense of community and drew upon the Bootcamp/Intensive device often employed in postgraduate medical CPD.

Student feedback was extremely positive, more than 90% of students agreed that the anatomy Bootcamp enhanced their understanding of anatomical concepts, improved their confidence in dealing with anatomical specimens, and helped them to get to know their peers on the course. Students also reported that the anatomy Bootcamp has helped them to identify personal areas of strengths and recognised areas that require improvement.

Although both anatomists and students have raised to the challenge and successfully adapted to the new style of virtual anatomy learning, it is important for educators to carefully consider the inevitable consequences of the shift and develop opportunities for students to achieve all programme learning outcomes, formal and hidden, that could otherwise be missed.