title: A subjective assessment of medical student perceptions on animal models in medical education.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There remains increasing societal pressure to limit the use of animals in medical education. The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective perceptions that medical students exposed to an animal model curriculum feel about the laboratory and its continued use.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 6-month prospective study was performed during the medical college core surgical clerkship. Medical students participated in both a trainer-based simulation workshop (dry laboratory) and a live-tissue animal laboratory (wet laboratory) in addition to their operative experience. Students completed a 23-question Likert survey at the end of the surgical clerkship. Data were compared using the chi-square test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More students reported increased subjective stress levels in the wet laboratory (32.4%) compared with the dry laboratory (5.4%, p < 0.001). In addition, more students felt the wet laboratory (vs dry laboratory) prepared them for the anxiety (55.4% vs 24.3%, p < 0.001) and technical demands (67.6% vs 44.6%, p = 0.005) of the operating room. The majority of medical students (>90%) felt the wet laboratory was an important experience and should be continued.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study show a subjective benefit perceived by medical students when it comes to participation in an animal laboratory during their surgical clerkship. As such, over 90% of participating medical students feel the animal laboratory is important in medical education and should be continued in their surgical curriculum.
authors.affiliation: Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Shaun C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Daly
authors.affiliation: Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Rinewalt
authors.affiliation: Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bines
authors.affiliation: Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Minh B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Luu
authors.affiliation: Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: jonathan_myers@rush.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Myers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D001007:Anxiety; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D004501:Education, Medical; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Medical Knowledge; simulation; surgical education; undergraduate medical education