Head and Neck Anatomy: Effect of Focussed Near-Peer Teaching on Anatomical Confidence in Undergraduate Medical Students.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of near-peer head and neck anatomy teaching on undergraduates and to quantify the benefit from a focussed teaching course. Near-peer teaching involves colleagues within close seniority and age proximity teaching one another on a specified topic.

DESIGN: Small group teaching sessions were delivered to medical students on 3 key areas of ENT anatomy. Participants were given a precourse and postcourse questionnaire to determine the benefit attained from the course.

SETTING: An undergraduate anatomy course taking place at the University of Birmingham Medical School.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 30 medical students: 15 preclinical (years 1-2) and 15 clinical (years 3-5) medical students participated from a single institution.

RESULTS: A total of 71% of students expressed inadequate teaching of head and neck anatomy in undergraduate curriculum. All students (n = 30) expressed benefit from the course, however the patterns of learning differed: preclinical students showed a significant improvement in both their ability to name anatomical structures and their application (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Near-peer learning provides benefit to all medical undergraduates in the context of teaching anatomy which may make it a valuable teaching tool for the future of medical education.