Online veterinary anatomy education during Covid-19 pandemic in Iran: Challenges and opportunities

BackgroundThe covid-19 pandemic changed veterinary anatomy in-person training to inexperienced virtual training rapidly. ObjectivesThis survey was designed to assess the perceptions of first- and second-year Iranian veterinary students on learning outcomes during the online transition. MethodsThe opinions of 684 students were examined using questionnaire. ResultsThe data showed that 23.8% of students were interested in learning anatomy online and 24.8% were satisfied with it. Only 13.5% of the students in the survey generally agree with replacing remote teaching with ordinary training. Less than 1% of students considered online education suitable for the practical part of anatomy. Most of the students' sources for theoretical part included professor's booklets, narrated PowerPoint lectures, in-class notes, and anatomy books. Professors' dissection videos, YouTube videos and also anatomy atlases were the most used sources for practical part. Many students (69.3%) were comfortable using technology. Few numbers of the students (36.1%) were satisfied with the result of the online anatomy exam. Students commented missing dissection, lack of interaction and technology challenges as main negative-points of E-learning. While time management and reviewing the recorded lessons was described as one of the most important benefits. ConclusionsOnline education cannot replace face-to-face education in anatomy and it can be used along ordinary training as an additional educational tool. However, group online learning activities, using dissection videos and 3-D software are suggested for online learning. The data of this study, collected for the first time in Iran, can be used for future decisions in veterinary anatomy.