Using anatomy education to develop the research skills of chiropractic students : a brief report

Anatomy is one of the core pre-clinical subjects in the education of chiropractic students. In this paper, we argue that the subject of anatomy, apart from its main purpose of teaching students about the structures of the human body within the clinical context, can be utilized in the advancement of a number of other capabilities. One capabilityincludes the development of research skills for chiropractic students. We present two activities devised to contribute towards the development of students' research skills. One activity is for first year students and another for final year students. The first year studentactivity involves using osteometric instruments to take measurements between standard landmarks on bones in the osteological collection of Macquarie University's Chiropractic Department. The activity for final year students involves identification and analysis of pathological conditions in the osteological collection. The Chiropractic health profession is quickly moving towards evidence-based practice. The basic research skills taught by these exercises are essential as a foundation for developing more complex competencies ranging from the usage of complex clinical/research apparatuses and tools to assessing evidence in existing research. The activities we propose are easy to implement, time efficientand can be applied with a minimum of financial cost. These exercises enable students to learn difficult anatomical material while applying it within a clinical context, improving critical thinking and developing research skills.