Applying Peer Mentoring to Improve Learning Human Anatomy.

The main purpose of our work is to assess the likewise of mentoring practices in the educational process of teaching the discipline "normal human anatomy" to medical students in full-time practical classes and in distance learning using interactive technologies. We present our version of best practices for tutoring students in normal human anatomy classes, which enables us to focus on the most difficult topics of this discipline. In particular, we analyzed teaching central nervous system anatomy to two groups of medical students under different learning conditions: during classical practical classes and, separately, during distance learning using interactive technologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the 2018-2019 academic year, a group of students in classical anatomy class was surveyed using a printed questionnaire and a the Google form. One of the research materials was the data obtained during the survey. The survey gathered opinion data regarding the quality of teaching and requested suggestions to improve teaching and learning. In March-May 2020, we implemented mentoring for a group of students using Zoom, Skype, and VK social network for conducting classes, sending materials, and receiving feedback. RESULTS We found that the electronic materials were rated positively by students, which we used to improve the teaching process for "Normal Human Anatomy." We found that mentoring directly improved students' academic performance. Mentoring provided flexibility that enabled students to have a measure of self-control of their engagement in their educational process. Sharing with classmates helped students reflect on their learning activities and allowed them to present their own ideas. Mentoring engaged students in their educational process in a meaningful and worthwhile say. CONCLUSION Properly formulated mentoring goals in anatomy studies improved students' motivation to learn and their interest in the subject matter.