Increased use of cadaver specimens as a method for improving medical student satisfaction with clinical ear anatomy teaching at St George's, University of London: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Delivering sufficient otology education for undergraduates is known to be difficult, with limited teaching time being a contributing factor. Increasing student access to dissections of the ear could serve to increase satisfaction with teaching at St George's, University of London, UK. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate student satisfaction with clinical ear anatomy teaching and investigate whether it can be improved using dissected specimens. METHOD: Participants completed an online survey and knowledge examinations, both before and after attending a new tutorial, with answers from before and after the session being compared. RESULTS: Pre-teaching satisfaction scores concerning teaching were low, at an average of 2.45 (out of 7), with a mean examination result of 6.53 (out of 10). Post-teaching average satisfaction increased by 3.20 points to 5.65 (out of 7) (p < 0.01) and examination scores increased by 1.53 points to 8.07 (out of 10) (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Students are supportive of increased access to cadaver dissections of the ear, and facilitating this can improve satisfaction with otology teaching.