Graduate anatomy education: How are we training the future generations of anatomy educators?

The teaching of anatomy is relevant to many fields and anatomy teachers are in demand. Individuals with a graduate anatomy education are some of the most sought-after candidates to fill open teaching positions, but it is unclear as to what constitutes a graduate anatomy education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the components of a graduate anatomy education in the United States. A survey regarding the components of doctoral, master's, and graduate certificate programs was distributed to program directors and department chairs at 71 US institutions. Respondents indicated that there were 17 doctoral, 28 master's, and 9 graduate certificate programs. Students completed coursework in all the traditional anatomical subdisciplines in approximately half of doctoral (53%) and master's (57%) programs, though the number was lower in graduate certificate programs (22%). In comparison, within 12 programs (5 doctoral, 4 master's, and 3 graduate certificate) students were required to complete coursework in less than 2 anatomical subdisciplines. Required coursework outside the subdisciplines usually involved educational theories and practices (61% of programs), research methods (52% of programs), and/or physiology (37% of programs). Respondents indicated that most programs (81%) were designed to prepare their students to teach. It appears that graduate anatomy training likely involves gross anatomy coursework, coursework in another anatomical subdiscipline, and coursework in educational theories and practices. Given the likely decline in the number of doctoral-level anatomy programs from 21 to 19, serious consideration should be given to hiring teaching candidates with master's or graduate certificate training in anatomy.