Best Practices

Context of the practice

Visual aided methods are effective way to overcome the negative effects of the increasing class size, expanding curriculum, time pressure on the students and shortage of trained faculty. The new advances in technology has helped to create teaching material which is more accessible and interactive. The application of new information technology has revolutionized the traditional methods of teaching Human Anatomy. The potential advantage of video and multimedia techniques is the step-by-step demonstration of process, attracting and holding class attention. Videos can be used in group settings to facilitate discussions and collaborative learning. Students can analyse and discuss the content, enhancing their overall understanding through peer interaction.

Objectives of Practice

To enhance the teaching and learning of human anatomy using videos

  • To implement the modules in routine dissection hall practice
  • To enhance skill based clinical anatomy teaching for acquisition of knowledge in limited time
  • Assess students acceptance and satisfaction with the video-based lectures versus the traditional method of teaching human anatomy in dissection theatre
  • To determine the effect of video-based lectures on enhancing students knowledge versus the traditional method of teaching human anatomy

The Practice

  • Video-assisted teaching programs enable learners to gain practical and standardized experience and develop required clinical skills. Video-assisted teaching is convenient, easy to access, and delivers consistent quality independent of the person's teaching skills.
  • On the contrary, traditional classes provided different vantage points in each class depending on the students and teachers positions, classroom layout, and space and time constraints.
  • Video lectures offer the following advantages: the provision of rich educational materials, the ability of repetition, and the ending with standardization in medical education.
  • Videos can depict anatomical structures and functions in real-life contexts. surgical videos can show procedures related to specific anatomical regions, giving students a practical understanding of how structures are encountered in clinical settings.

Obstacles faced and strategies adopted to overcome them

Only if any technical problem. It can be overcome by regular maintenance and service of LED monitors and projector

Learners may struggle to manage their time effectively when presented with a vast amount of video content. It can be overcome by Providing a clear schedule with topics

Students may become disengaged or distracted while watching videos, leading to reduced comprehension and retention. This is overcome by using shorter video segments: breaking content into smaller, to maintain learner attention.

Impact of the Practice

  • The benefits of using video-based teaching materials enhances student learning. This teaching strategy can facilitate knowledge transfer to the students for acquiring more skills.
  • Furthermore, video-based lectures can become a cost-effective teaching method in that they can be created once, and then saved in libraries to be used by a large number of academic educators.
  • Thus, carefully constructed videos or modules can be an efficient supplement to current practices releasing the classroom time for even more exciting and interactive engagements

Resources required

  • Adequate time required to prepare high quality video- based teaching modules with the available resources.
  • Manpower, high resolution camera and trained faculty to create a module on relevant topics
  • Well equipped audiovisual aids with LCD projector and display screen31-07-2024

Feedback from students for video assisted teaching

  • Adequate time required to prepare high quality video- based teaching modules with the available resources.
  • Manpower, high resolution camera and trained faculty to create a module on relevant topics
  • Well equipped audiovisual aids with LCD projector and display screen 31-07-2024

Context of the practice

JSS Medical College Body Donation Program, from its inception since 1996, has presented a doorway for those willing to bequeath their body, to bridge the gap between donors and medical researchers, educators and students. Cadaveric dissection has been the primary teaching modality in anatomy education for ages. Beyond teaching, donated bodies are utilized in various facets across the scientific community.

With our unprejudiced approach, the program welcomes applications of those individuals whose demise is due to natural cause, regardless of age, sex, caste or race. With over 3600 registrations and over 480 donated bodies till date, the cadaver will be used not only for undergraduate dissection classes, but also for cadaveric workshops, skill training for surgical & other specialties including ENT, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, Emergency Medicine dermatology etc., and more. Continuing efforts have been made to raise awareness, to inform and educate the people regarding the Body Donation Program through various platforms such as public meetings, print and e-media. The cadaver dissection teaching contributes to all three domains i, e cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning for students.

Objectives of Practice

  • To sensitize the public on significance of body donation in teaching and research purpose
  • To develop registry of voluntary body donors and maintain details of registered and donated bodies
  • To employ standard operating procedure of body donation program
  • To utilize donated bodies for novel cause - teaching, skill training workshops and research purpose
  • To utilize the Cadavers for various specialties like surgery, ENT, orthopedics, dermatology etc. to enhance surgical skills and focused workshop to benefit postgraduate students and faculty.

The Practice

  • Volunteers approaches JSS Body donation program for registration
  • The declaration form will be provided, or soft copy can be downloaded from website.
  • Duly filled and signed declaration form will be collected. Registration process will be completed, and the certificate of honor & ID card will be issued.
  • The registered no and the details of voluntary donor will be documented. In case of death on receiving message from the family of the registered donor, death confirmation certificate will be documented.
  • Certificates of acknowledgement will be issued to family members. The donated cadaver will be numbered and documented in register.

Standard Operating Procedure aimed to standardize actions and certify that all the necessary information and documents are discussed in the process.

A flowchart of the procedures for assisting potential donors is created. The SOP provides assistance for the correct filling-up of all documents, including consent form, as well as explains about legal procedures which are essential in the application.

During the donor's registration in the program, the next of kin also signs the form, which is considered a good practice in body donation. Continued efforts have been made to raise awareness, to inform and educate the people regarding the Body Donation Program through various platforms such as public meetings, medical exhibition and e-media.

Obstacles faced and strategies adopted to overcome them

Some sentimental feelings of relatives and some of the family members not very comfortable for donation causing inconvenience & delay in the process. This is overcome by counselling & discussion to convince them the advantages of body donation with examples of previous donors, which in majority of cases solves the problem.

Lack of awareness to procure death confirmation certificate, this is overcome by giving information to the relatives of the deceased and the procedure of obtaining the same

The availability of storage space for donated cadavers. New storage tanks are procured and the space for storage tanks is extended to accommodate more tanks

Impact of the Practice

  • The JSS Medical College body donation Program working since 27 years, overwhelming response is obtained from public and this is depicted by number of registered and donated bodies.
  • Number of registered bodies:3641 Number of donated bodies: 491 till date
  • Number of schools visited to museum: 10 per year
  • Number of external activities organised from BDA: 6 programs per year
  • Number of cadaver skill workshops organised: 4 per year
  • Voluntary donation programs help to enable a student to emerge as a passionate medical professional with immense respect and empathy towards humankind.
Year Male Female Total
2018-19 90 104 194
2019-20 76 82 158
2020-21 34 31 65
2021-22 33 31 63
2022-23 85 89 174

Body donation statistics

Bar diagram showing registered bodies in last 5 years

Year Male Female Total
2018-19 22 15 37
2019-20 09 15 24
2020-21 05 02 07
2021-22 02 01 03
2022-23 25 21 46

Donated bodies in last 5 years

Bar diagram showing donated bodies in last 5 years

Resources required

  • Manpower to disseminate information on voluntary body donation, preservation and store cadavers
  • Manpower to respond to the calls by relatives including odd hours, Sundays and holidays(24/7)
  • Ambulance to transport the bodies to the department
  • Trained faculty to embalm the cadavers efficiently
  • Infrastructure to preserve the cadavers and storage tanks to store the cadavers

Feedback for cadaver skill workshop -Face off