Survey of clinicians' attitudes to the anatomical teaching and knowledge of medical students

TLDR

There is ongoing debate about the adequacy of medical students' anatomical knowledge and teaching, yet few studies have surveyed clinicians' views. A questionnaire was distributed to 362 senior clinicians at Aberdeen hospitals, yielding 162 representative responses. Clinicians largely view current anatomy education as insufficient for safe practice and support greater vertical integration across the curriculum.

Abstract

There is considerable and ongoing debate surrounding the teaching of anatomy to medical students, and the anatomical knowledge of those medical students once they graduate. Few attempts have been made to gather the opinions of clinicians on this subject. A questionnaire was sent to 362 senior clinicians in hospitals affiliated to the University of Aberdeen. A total of 162 replies were received, with this sample being representative of the population of hospital consultants. Our results indicate that the majority of clinicians feel that the current anatomical education of medical students is inadequate, and below the minimum necessary for safe medical practice. There is widespread support among clinicians for more vertical integration of anatomy teaching throughout the undergraduate curriculum.