Development and validation of surface anatomy assessment tool for first-year medical students at a public institution

Date of Award

8-15-2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Health Professions Education

First Advisor

Dr Lubna Baig

Second Advisor

Dr Amber Sultan

Third Advisor

Dr Azam Afzal

Department

Educational Development

Abstract

Background: In clinical practice, surface anatomy plays a vital role, enabling students to have a deeper understanding of inner anatomical structures through visible body landmarks. In most medical colleges across the globe, the focus is only on traditional teaching lectures and neglects hands-on experience and structured assessment of surface anatomy knowledge and skills. For evaluation. very litt1e attention is being paid to practical assessment.
Objective: To develop and validate a tool for formative assessment of surface anatomy in first year medical students at a public institution.
Methods: A mixed-method sequential study was designed in Gujranwala medical college. The tool was developed following the published literature and validate by six experts through modified Delphi technique. The newly developed tool was tested along 79 first year students by two independent raters in six groups to conduct the evaluation. Inter-rater reliability was determined using Interclass coefficient’s (lCC), while internal consistency was measured through Cronbach's alpha.
Results: The surface anatomy tool demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α= 0.954) and good inter-rater reliability (ICC= 0.793). Overall performance was modest across all domains, such as communication, empathy. and professionalism, as well as in technical areas, including palpation. Identification, and marking of anatomical landmarks.
Conclusion: The newly developed validated surface anatomy assessment tool provides a reliable and structured method for assessing surface anatomy skills in the early years of undergraduate medical education, reflecting the tools robustness in measuring these skills.

First Page

1

Last Page

70

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