Introducing a Vertically Integrated Teaching Module in Anatomy for Undergraduate Medical Students

Background: Vertical integration is an alternative technique to the traditional method of teaching–learning and has been implemented as part of competency based medical education curriculum. It helps learner to correlate knowledge gained from basic medical sciences to understand different clinical conditions. So, an effort was made to introduce vertically integrated teaching module in Anatomy for undergraduate medical students. Methodology: An observational cross-sectional study was undertaken on 150 phase one MBBS students and 36 faculties. Two topics of Anatomy were taught by traditional method and another two topics by vertical integration. Thereafter, feedback was taken from students and faculties through a prevalidated questionnaire on a Likert scale. The data was then analyzed statistically using a binomial test with P -value < 0.05 as significant. Results: Ninety seven percent students found the vertically integrated method more comprehensive. They were better able to correlate knowledge of Anatomy with different clinical conditions. They also wanted to have similar sessions in the future. Similarly, 86% of faculties acknowledged its usefulness. However, most of them found conducting these sessions as time consuming and 81% of them perceived the requirement of greater coordination between different departments. They also expressed their concern about faculty shortage, which could be a major hindrance for its effective implementation. Conclusion: This study indicates that the vertically integrated teaching method is a better alternative than the traditional method, as has been perceived by students as well as faculties. However, faculties were apprehensive regarding time constraint and shortage of manpower to manage extra workload during coordination and conduct of these sessions.