An Introduction and Evaluation of Direct Observation with Checklist as a Teaching-Learning and Assessment Method in Anatomy

Background: Surface anatomy, which correlates with clinically relevant structural outlines and palpable features, is a core clinical skill that forms an essential component of physical examination. The teaching methodologies used currently lack clarity and adequacy of content as well as the assessment methods are ambiguous. With curricular reforms in India, there is a need for a student-centric teaching that integrates the principles of active and collaborative learning, feedback, and student autonomy. Methodology: The current study introduced and evaluated a new methodology, i.e. "Direct Observation with Checklist" for surface anatomy in 1st-year MBBS undergraduate students to gather their perception and gauge any improvement in learning. Students were taught and observed during their performance of a particular surface marking with the checklists and relevant improvements in their performances were suggested. At the end of the month, an examination was arranged and each student was individually assessed by two separate examiners during his/her performance. This was followed by an anonymous feedback to gather the student as well as faculty perception using a five-point Likert scale. Results: Z-test computation revealed a significant difference between the scores obtained through direct observation with checklist and without checklist. The faculty and student feedback provided encouraging results and suggestions in the implementation of direct observation with checklist. Conclusion: Direct observation with checklist is a novel teaching-learning and assessment method implemented for the first time in anatomy for teaching psychomotor skills of surface anatomy and can be explored further to educate and empower students.