The Anatomy of Ambiguity: An Exploration of How Anatomy Education Influences Medical Student Tolerance of Ambiguity (ToA)

The science of anatomy has been perceived by medical students as being known by experts with completeness and certainty. Yet the reality of anatomy, as with all biomedical sciences and the field healthcare, is that unknowns and ambiguities abound and are inherent to the practice of scientists and clinicians. ToA is a construct describing an individual’s response to ambiguous stimuli and is increasingly being recognised as influencing healthcare outcomes, with low levels of ToA (sometimes “intolerance” of ambiguity) being linked to negative outcomes such as increased health expenditure and clinician burnout. Although studies are limited, evidence suggests that education may be able to foster improved ToA in
medical students. To further explore medical student ToA and the influence of education, we conducted a longitudinal qualitative study with two successive cohorts of medical students undertaking anatomy at Monash University. Data was
collected from online discussion forums during semester and interviews at the end of semesters. The anatomy curriculum was designed to incorporate ambiguities in clinical anatomy into student learning, especially as these relate to patient care. Preliminary data analysis suggests that although some students struggled with the concept of ambiguity early in their anatomy studies, over time, awareness of the role of ambiguity in anatomy and healthcare did improve. This research suggests that anatomy education may have the potential to foster medical student ToA, and thus aid student preparedness for practice.