FUTURE SPECIALIZATION IN ANATOMY: PERCEPTION OF UNDERGRADUATE CLINICAL STUDENTS
*Popoola Sunday Ogunsuyi and Adams Olusegun Timothy
ABSTRACT
With the declining interest in Anatomy amongst medical graduates, this study was set to audit the perception of undergraduate clinical students on future specialization in Anatomy. Specific objectives: evaluating notions of clinical students on the relevance of Anatomy as a prerequisite for good medical practice; reviewing training institution and place of employment for candidates having interest in anatomy. Study was conducted amongst undergraduate clinical students with a 20-item questionnaire. The options were a 5-point Likert scale: 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neutral, 4=agree and 5=strongly agree on Anatomy as a subject; Anatomy in pre-clinical phase of medical training; Anatomy in clinical phase of medical training; and Anatomy as future career. Collated data were entered into Statistical Package for Social Scientists to analyze means, frequency and Kendall Coefficient of Concordance and level of statistical-significance was set at p<0.05. Out of 80 students, 73 returned the completed forms representing a response of 91.2%. Mean age was 25.73±3.12 with range of 20 to 40years and male to female ratio was 2 to 1. Perceptions were contained in mega Table 2. Militating factors included failure to acknowledge Clinical Anatomy as an integral component of medical curriculum in all phases; cadaver dissection was perceived a difficult task; and time allocation for anatomy in pre-clinical was not enough to comprehend skills. Students applauded utility of Anatomy in medical practice. Majority preferred studying and practicing anatomy abroad; calling for special audit of teaching and practice of Anatomy by stakeholders.
Keywords: Future Career; Clinical Student; Anatomy.
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