Enhancing education and access

Anatomy palpation videos offer diversity and 24/7 training opportunities

by Stephanie Stemmler  • November 19, 2024

Owens teaches first-year OT students about the actions of muscles of the upper extremity.

Washington University Occupational Therapy (OT) instructor Grayson Owens, OTD, OTR/L, was in his first year of teaching foundational skills in his Anatomical Structures Supporting Occupational Performance class when he noticed a profound problem.

“There just wasn’t enough time in class for everyone to see and learn palpation techniques,” said Owens. “These are critical core skills that we teach to first-year OT students, and they need to learn how to use them appropriately and in a patient setting.”

Palpation is the ability to identify and locate boney landmarks and muscles in the body using fingers or hands. It helps to assess swelling or tenderness, range of motion and injury. Done incorrectly, however, palpation can irritate tissue and cause more problems than the techniques identify.

For years, OT students studied palpation by watching instructors in class and studying diagrams in textbooks before practicing movements on fellow classmates. Owens wanted to extend the ability to learn proper techniques. “I thought if we could develop videos showcasing proper palpation, we could make that available 24/7 to students whenever they wanted to watch and learn.”

He brought the idea to Lenin Grajo, PhD, OTR/L, CLA, associate director of the Program in Occupational Therapy and director of the Division of Professional Education. Grajo encouraged him to research the topic, and what Owens found was striking. A recent study noted that 53% of master’s- or doctoral-level OT students reported lacking in competence in their anatomical knowledge in preparation for entry-level practice and in working with diverse populations (Giles et al., 2021). Another study found that anatomy courses offered only limited diversity in terms of representation in imagery and models used within teaching.

“Skin color, body shape, size, ethnicity and gender; none of that was well represented in educational materials,” said Owens. “We had the chance to develop a new model of education with these videos that would not only broaden access to skills learning, but also broaden diversity and inclusion.”

With funding provided by the Program, Owens created a series of videos that progressively moved OT students through palpation exercises. He recruited a diverse group of eight second-year OT students who previously had taken the anatomy course to help him demonstrate proper techniques. Over a three-day period this past summer, the group used the university’s Instructional Design Studio to film several training videos.

This fall, the videos began debuting in Owens’ anatomy course. Students were asked to watch each video prior to class. Owens then used classroom time to demonstrate and discuss each technique before students broke into small groups to perform palpations on each other.

“We immediately saw a benefit in terms of access,” said Owens. “We have second-career and nontraditional students, students who work or who have families, all of whom could watch the videos at any time in a secure portal with 24/7 access. They could learn and relearn at their own convenience and then have the skills reinforced in class and lab.”

Lexi Hanson, OTD/S ’25, was one of the second-year students who participated in the videos. “I believe the videos would have been so helpful to me when I took the anatomy course, because I’m a visual learner and benefit from seeing something actively being done,” she said. “They are a great universal design addition. I can use my own device to start and stop a video, or zoom in, based upon my liking. Also, having representation of different body types in the videos and demonstrations is extremely important in addition to practicing with different people in class.”

“Diversity in educational videos is important,” stressed Owens. While there are no major anatomical differences between diverse populations, diversity enhances a comfort factor. “Historically, anatomy content has been white skin and fit bodies,” he said. “But a real patient setting is often quite diverse, and I believe occupational therapists will improve both their comfort level and confidence in palpation skills if they have exposure and practice with diverse populations during their training.”

Owens, who splits his time between academic instruction and clinical practice, now is working to determine the impact of the videos. “I used research to support why and how I created the videos,” he said. “Now I want to conduct my own research to know how many times the videos are viewed, how students are using them, the benefits of 24/7 access, and the impact of seeing diversity in them. It’s exciting to potentially move the needle higher on the quality of education we provide and make a meaningful difference.”

 

 

Close Get Started Panel

Get Started

We welcome inquiries from prospective students, potential collaborators, community partners, alumni and others who want to connect with us. Please complete the form below to begin the conversation.

Close Schedule a Visit Panel

Schedule an Info Session

We are excited that you are considering applying to WashU Medicine Program in Occupational Therapy. Please join us for a Zoom Information Session for either our entry-level MSOT or OTD degrees or our online post-professional OTD. Current faculty members will discuss the degree program and answer any question you may have. We are offering these sessions on the following days and times. The content is the same for each one, so you only need to sign up for one.

Upcoming ENTRY-LEVEL Degree ZOOM Info sessions:

Schedule an Entry-Level Info Session

Upcoming PP-OTD Degree ZOOM Info session:

Schedule a PP-OTD Info Session