Does an Additional Online Anatomy Course Improve Performance of Medical Students on Gross Anatomy Examinations?

Aim: An online learning course in anatomy was added to the regular academic anatomy course in the 2nd year of medicine at UNAN-Leon in Nicaragua, using the MOODLE platform. This study aims to determine the learning effect of this course. Method: Second-year medical students were randomly allocated to an experimental (N = 25) and control group (N = 50). Only the experimental group had access to the online learning module. We compared the performance of the experimental and the control group on both regular anatomy assessment and an objective structured practical exam (OSPE). Additionally, five focus groups were interviewed to learn about their experiences of the expanded course. Results: Of students in the experimental group 94.1% and 81.6% of students in the control group took the OSPE. The experimental group significantly outperformed the control group (41.1 ± 19.3 points vs. 32.1 ± 23.1 points) on the OSPE. No differences between the two groups were found on the regular anatomy examination. Focus group interviews revealed students’ opinions about the online course were generally positive. Conclusion: In general, the addition of an online course to the regular course was beneficial. The results of the qualitative evaluation of this intervention provides us with input about how to teach and evaluate the anatomy course and how to further improve the online course to enhance anatomy learning.