Near-Peer Teaching to Integrate Anatomical Imaging into the Medical School Curriculum

Purpose Additional instruction in imaging can solidify medical students’ anatomical knowledge, which in turn, supports better clinical reasoning skills. Imaging education is often constrained due to insufficient time in the curriculum as well as instructor availability. Near-peer teaching can address some of these constraints. Methods Imaging at our school is integrated across seven anatomy blocks in the first-year curriculum. One-hour optional review sessions, led by second-year medical students, were incorporated into each block with a focus on high yield exam concepts. Attendance was collected at each session. Pre- and post-session quizzes, post-session surveys, and an end of course questionnaire measured student knowledge and perceptions. Quiz performance was compared before and after each session. Survey responses were recorded on a Likert scale and quantitatively analyzed. Open ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results An average of 50.7 ± 6.9 students attended each session and students performed better on the post-session quizzes for 6/7 sessions. Students felt more knowledgeable about anatomy and imaging topics and were more prepared to answer test questions following these sessions. Longer-term knowledge retention, assessed at the end of the course using multiple choice questions from each pre/post-session quiz, was also evident. Students felt satisfied with near-peer facilitators and with session content and delivery. Comments focused on desiring more time to answer practice questions, acquiring learning tips from facilitators, and preferring longer sessions. Conclusions This study demonstrates that near-peer-led imaging sessions are feasible, engaging, and have positive effects on student knowledge and test preparedness.