UC Chile Medicine Students Win First Place in America's Anatomy Cup
A UC Chile Medicine team made up of second-year students and faculty members participated in the international competition organized by Latin American Anatomy Societies with the support of Elsevier publishing house. The representatives placed Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in first place in Latin American anatomical knowledge.
photo_camera The team is made up of Dr. Emilio Farfán Cabello, a professor from the Department of Anatomy, and second-year students Felipe Araya, Manuel Barroilhet, Francisco Cornejo, Agustín Gutiérrez, and Matías Vergara.
Back in November 2022, the UC Chile Medicine second-year students clinched the top spot in the national tournament “III Olimpiadas Interuniversitarias de Anatomía” (III Inter-University Anatomy Olympics), held in Puerto Montt. Following this victory, they represented Chile in the tournament “Copa América de Anatomía” (America's Anatomy Cup), where they competed against anatomy champions from other Latin American countries.
The Chilean Society of Anatomy backed the team representing UC Chile Medicine, which is made up of Dr. Emilio Farfán Cabello, a faculty member from the Department of Anatomy, and five second-year students, Felipe Araya, Manuel Barroilhet, Francisco Cornejo, Agustín Gutiérrez, and Matías Vergara. The tournament took place on January 31 and was conducted on Zoom.
The event brought together teams from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Peru, who competed in a virtual test developed with an application of 3D anatomical models.
The team prepared for four weeks. They also had the support of the professors of the department of UC Chile Radiology, Dr. Álvaro Burdiles and Francisco Garrido, as well as Dr. Oscar Inzunza and Jaritza Tramolao of UC Chile’s Anatomy department.
According to Dr. Emilio Farfán, the team's first week was spent on theoretical reading, with six hours dedicated to reading per day. In the second and third weeks, the team engaged in practical work in the anatomy wards, where the students completed an intensive week on the Diplomas in Human Anatomy and Head and Neck Anatomy. This included carrying out prosection and cadaveric dissection activities. The fourth week was dedicated to a review of images with the support of teachers from the UC Chile Radiology and Anatomy departments.
The team's arduous preparation also included a rehearsal supported by Dr. Oscar Inzunza, which consisted of identification questions and short answer questions. They tackled approximately 500 questions and achieved an impressive performance of 95%.
“America's Anatomy Cup” Results
The team of medical students achieved an impressive success rate of 90%, surpassing Colombia's score of 85%. According to Dr. Emilio Farfán, winning the America's Cup of Anatomy is “a significant milestone for the UC Chile School of Medicine and for Chile as a whole. Chile has become the first country to win the competition, positioning Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile as the top institution in the field of Anatomy at the Latin American level.”
It's worth noting that one of the grand prizes of the competition includes a collection of books and six-month free license of Elsevier's Complete Anatomy software. This prize will benefit all health programs at the Faculty of Medicine of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
