Purpose
Anatomy is a foundational concept in undergraduate medical education (UME) with widespread utility in clinical skills education. While integration of these skills is key, students often struggle to verbalize their knowledge- a core skill for a practicing physician. While previous studies explore assessment of communication of anatomical concepts in graduate medical education (GME), there is minimal research at the UME level. Assessment of communication falls under interpersonal and communication skills (ISC) in a UME competency-based education curriculum. This project aims to design a method for assessing the ISC competency for small group cadaveric sessions in a competency-based, pre-clerkship curriculum.

Methods
One-minute “chirping” presentations were assigned at each laboratory station. Facilitators evaluated each presentation for non-verbal communication and time management on a 5-point Likert scale. Surveys were conducted on students and facilitators at the end of the course with an 86% response rate from facilitators (n=14) and a 49% response rate from students (n=63). Students also evaluated anatomy through end-of-course evaluations.

Results
Anatomy facilitators unanimously felt the chirping was somewhat-to-significantly effective and increased student preparedness with 50% rating them significantly-to-substantially more prepared. Among students, 55% agreed they were more prepared, though 74% felt they were not more efficient and 68% felt the learning approach was not any more effective. End-of-course reviews for anatomy were slightly lower than the previous year however, open feedback indicated this was likely related to other factors.

Conclusions
Small group oral presentations are an effective means of encouraging preparation for engagement and communication in cadaveric anatomy sessions but may increase student stress. Future goals include assessing the ISC competency in additional blocks and streamlining receipt of timely facilitator evaluations.