To become skilled physicians, medical students must master surface anatomy. However, the study of surface anatomy is less emphasized in medical and allied health science curricula, and the time devoted to direct engagement with the human body is limited. This scoping review was designed to answer one research question: "What are the elements and strategies that are effective in teaching surface anatomy?" The review was performed using a five-stage scoping review framework, including research question identification, relevant study identification, study selection, data charting, and result collating and reporting. Three databases were searched using two search terms combined with a Boolean operator: "teaching" and "surface anatomy." The initial pool of 3,294 sources was assessed for duplication, and study eligibility was evaluated using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were abstracted from 26 original articles by one researcher and verified by two other researchers. A thematic analysis was performed, and several elements of effective teaching strategies for surface anatomy were identified, namely contextualized teaching, embracing experiential learning, and learning facilitation. This review revealed that a multimodal approach was most commonly used in surface anatomy instruction. Hence, future research should explore the effectiveness of multimodal teaching strategies that adopt the three aforementioned primary elements of effective teaching in an authentic learning environment. It is pertinent to clarify the effectiveness of these teaching strategies by evaluating their impact on student learning, organizational changes, and benefits to other stakeholders.
Emotional maturity (EM) is defined as the ability of an individual to respond to situations, control emotions, and behave in an adult manner when dealing with others. EM is associated with adult learning skill, which is an important aspect of professional development as stated in the principles of andragogy. These principles are basically a characteristic feature of adult learning, which is defined as "the entire range of formal, non-formal, and informal learning activities that are undertaken by adults after an initial education and training, which result in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills". The purpose of this study is to find out the influence of EM on adult learning among Years I and II medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). The study population included preclinical medical students of UniSZA from Years I and II of the academic session 2015/2016. The convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample. Data were collected using "EM scale" to evaluate emotional level and adult learning scale to assess the adult learning scores. Out of 120 questionnaires, only six response sheets were not complete and the remaining 114 (95%) were complete. Among the study participants, 23.7% (27) and 76.3% (87) were males and females, respectively. The data were then compiled and analyzed using SPSS Version 22. The Pearson's correlation method was used to find the significance of their association. The results revealed a significant correlation between EM and adult learning scores (r=0.40, p<0.001). Thus, the study result supports the prediction, and based on the current findings, it can be concluded that there is a significant correlation between EM and adult learning and it has an effect on the students. Medical faculty members should give more emphasis on these aspects to produce health professionals. Henceforward, researchers can expect with optimism that the country will create more rational medical doctors.