Pandemic and medical education: Students' perception of the remote and in-person Human Anatomy discipline

Abstract

Introduction: The reduction in the workload of the anatomy discipline in medical schools, driven by cultural, bioethical, and legislative aspects, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, has affected the practice of cadaveric dissection, with many universities adopting remote teaching. Objective: To analyze the perception of medical students at the Federal University of Tocantins about the quality of remote, hybrid, and in-person teaching of human anatomy. Methods: Descriptive, exploratory, and quantitative research, applied by a questionnaire about the academic profile of the interviewees and the bioethical profile of the students. Results: With the response of 30 students, it was revealed that 84.1% of the remote teaching classes were expository, 79.6% used active learning methods. Although 90% of the practices involve cadavers, 50% of the students believe that the involvement of cadavers does not contribute to the humanization of medicine, 56.9% pointed out difficulties with the conservation and scarcity of cadaveric parts. Conclusion: The maintenance of the integrative study of human anatomy must be restored, adapting to the new technological demands after remote teaching.