Presentations

Abstract

Introduction: Anatomy stewardship plays a crucial role in preserving and managing anatomical resources, ensuring their ethical and educational utilization within academic and research settings. By definition, a discipline's steward is entrusted with its care by peers for the benefit of the field and the wider community. The current scope of stewardship in medicine, however, remains limited. With its proven benefits, there is a need for broader implementation of stewardship practices across various disciplines. This study aims to capture the perspectives of various anatomy stewards at multiple institutions in Virginia, USA. The following research question guided the study: How do anatomy stewards describe roles, responsibilities, and functions of anatomy stewardship?

Methods: This study employed stewardship as a conceptual framework, using a combined phenomenological and grounded research design to explore the experiences of diverse stewards of human anatomy. Four anatomy professionals agreed to participate in 30-45 minute interviews conducted online over Zoom. The eight constructs of stewardship were used to generate interview questions with the goal of framing and exploring several key stewardship concepts. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and an iterative coding procedure using inductive descriptive coding and collaborative processes were used to develop themes.

Results: The following three themes were identified across all four interviewees: Education, Professional Excellence, and Community. Education is highlighted by the stewards' ability to teach and innovate in any circumstance. Professional Excellence is described as the stewards' respective responsibilities and how they face challenges in their role. Lastly, community is how stewards collaborate with those both inside and outside their field to help improve the discipline.

Conclusion: Understanding the roles of a discipline steward is essential for the progress and sustainability of any field, as they are seen as instrumental in promoting best practices, ethical behavior, and ongoing improvement within their area of expertise. The themes of this study support the stewardship framework and inform medical educators and employers on how to best support and nurture the identity of stewards in medicine. This work contributes to a broader understanding of stewardship practices and offers valuable perspectives for enhancing education and resource management.