Anatomy Academy

Anatomy Academy

In addition to basic science research, members of the Wisco Lab are encouraged to participate in Anatomy Academy. The program was established in 2012 to teach anatomy, physiology and nutrition concepts as an effort to combat the obesity epidemic through educational intervention, and inspire kids to pursue science as a career.  The program is a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaboration for pre-professional students between the disciplines of medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, public policy and education at Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Utah Valley University, UCLA, Valencia College (Orlando, FL), New Mexico State University (Las Cruces, NM), San Jacinto College (Houston, TX), Briar Cliff University (Sioux City, IA), and Mesa Community Colleges (Mesa, AZ).  We serve 22 elementary school partners in over 43 classes. School sites for the Boston area will be established soon!

Volunteers in Anatomy Academy learn how to communicate complex medical information to a level appropriate for elementary school kids; prepare and deliver lessons on anatomy, physiology and nutrition that help kids understand the importance of establishing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle; teach groups of children in didactic and active learning environments; serve as role models for pursuing higher education; demonstrate the utmost professional demeanor; and become exposed to an experiential learning environment that results in immediate, quantifiable behavioral change in students.  Thus, Mentors are exposed to at least one component of each of the six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Core Competencies – Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning and Improvement, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, Systems-based Practice.

For more information on Anatomy Academy, you can view our Anatomy Academy videos at https://youtu.be/LYLTtxj2pys?si=oib88yK3lQjV4n5X, and/or a recent feature of the program at https://youtu.be/E_HmbPFwu0s.

Here is Dr. Wisco’s radio conversation with Julie Rose of Top of Mind:

https://www.byuradio.org/episode/2e80e368-63c4-4f15-8f76-7e1cc947b6b4?playhead=2412&autoplay=true.

We have studied the effect of Anatomy Academy on inspiring life-long learning in pre-professional and professional students that we call Mentors. In recent studies, we examined 1) Mentor self-efficacy in the ACGME Core Competencies of Interpersonal and Communication Skills; and 2) how Mentors improved their learning environments by incorporating feedback to their students.