Factors related to human gross anatomy knowledge retention in medical students

Abstract

Background : Human gross anatomy is one of the most important courses in the pre-clinical program of medical curriculum. This course is based on the study of the human body, including the details of both main and subsections. The complexity of the study causes difficulties in learning, particularly remembering the content.

Objectives : To determine the factors that affect the human gross anatomy proficiency and to explore medical students’ opinions of the human gross anatomy course.

Methods : An analytical cross sectional study was conducted among 184 third-year medical students. Human gross anatomy proficiency was examined using a multiple-choice questionnaire which is composed of 15 questions.
The purpose of the questionnaire was to assess three main factors: a) the student, b) the content and c) the human gross anatomy courses. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were used in data analysis.

Results : The mean proficiency score was 7.94 (52.93%) and the mean grade in the musculoskeletal system course was 2.89. The students’ responses were correlated with their proficiency of human gross anatomy (r = 0.284;
P < 0.01) and the grade in the musculoskeletal system course (r = 0.296; P < 0.01). However, the human gross anatomy content and the human gross anatomy courses were not correlated to the human gross anatomy
proficiency and the grade of the musculoskeletal system course. Furthermore, the samples favored traditional teaching as the best method for learning human gross anatomy (31.9%) followed by digital lecture (31.7%).

Conclusion : The medical student’s attitude is the factor that influenced human gross anatomy proficiency. The students preferred the traditional teaching and digital methods of learning for this course. In the future, the medical student’s attitude and teaching method should be considered as important factors for course management in human gross anatomy.