Abstract:

Understanding of anatomy is fundamental for safe clinical practice (Estai and Bunt, 2016) and therefore is a core component of the curriculum for healthcare and medicine degrees (Wilson et al, 2018). Medical imaging is routinely used to inform patient diagnosis, treatment and management (Sadler etal. 2018) and correlating 3D anatomy with 2D radiographic images can be a challenge for students (Wilson et al, 2018).

A co-teaching partnership was formed between an anatomy lecturer, radiography lecturer and a 2nd-year diagnostic radiography student to develop workshops to help year 2 physician associate (PA) students' correlate their anatomy knowledge to radiographic anatomy and pathology. Co-teaching is a recognised effective approach to combining the expertise of two or more teachers to promote student learning (Rodríguez-Martín et al, 2024) but is also perceived as time-consuming due to planning and preparation (Dougan et al, 2022).

Two interactive workshops were designed to improve confidence in looking at x-ray images of thoracic anatomy and pathology. They were delivered in the dissection room in the School of Medicine using a combination of thoracic cadaver prosections and corresponding x-ray images including chest x-rays, CT and cardiac angiography. Presenting x-ray images side by side with cadavers has been documented to increase student interest and consolidate learning of anatomy (Murphy et al, 2015 and Grignon et al, 2015).

Method:
Eleven year 2 PA students participated in two workshops:
- Workshop 1 (1-hour): 'Chest x-ray Master Class': this included examples of 'normal' chest x-ray (CXR) images, and examples of what can affect the appearances of the CXR such as patient positioning and radiographic technique. This was designed and delivered by a 2nd-year diagnostic radiography student
- Workshop 2 (1 hour): Six cases studies were curated to demonstrate a range of thoracic anatomy, pathology and artefacts such as cardiac pacemakers, sternotomy wires and breast implants. This was delivered by the anatomy and radiography lecturers.

Students completed pre- and post-workshop assessments:
- Questionnaire: Confidence ratings (Likert scale) across three domains: technical accuracy, anatomical identification, and normal vs. abnormal recognition.
- Diagnostic exercise: identification of anatomical features on a normal CXR and interpretation of five case studies (four abnormal, one normal), with justification for abnormal findings.

Results:
Anonymized paired data enabled comparison of pre- and post-workshop scores.
- Questionnaire: Statistically significant improvement observed in confidence ratings (Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, p < 0.01) with most students moving from “Not so confident” to “Somewhat confident” or “Very confident”.
- Diagnostic exercise 10 of 11 students demonstrated significant improvement in diagnostic accuracy (Paired T-Test, p < 0.05), with mean scores increasing by 20%.

Conclusion:
Workshops using a combination of prosection and radiographic anatomy and pathology significantly improved PA students’ confidence and performance in identifying radiographic anatomy and pathology of the thorax. This model supports the integration of radiographic anatomy into PA curricula and highlights the value of collaborative, case-based learning.

Keywords:

Anatomy education, radiographic anatomy and pathology, co-teaching, interprofessional anatomy education.