Medical Students' Attitude and Perception Towards Embryology Course at Debre Markos University, Ethiopia.

Abstract

IntroductionMedical students’ attitudes and perceptions are crucial for designing an anatomy curriculum that meets the standards for safe medical practice.ObjectiveTo assess the attitude and perception of medical students towards the clinical relevance of embryology at Debre Markos University.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at Debre Markos University from March 10 to April 20, 2022. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire includes students’ attitudes, career choices, and perceptions of integration of embryology and teratology courses. All viewpoints were rated using a positive Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis.ResultsA total of 246 medical students participated in the study. About 159 (64.63%) medical students perceived that embryology requires understanding in the clinics. More than half of the respondents, 169 (68.70%) perceived that embryology is most clinically relevant for all basic sciences. About two-thirds of medical students, 189 (76.83%) agreed that integration of embryology and teratology courses in the first and second years was better than teaching each discipline alone. More than half of medical students, 145 (58.94%) also preferred problem-based learning that combines embryology and teratology. About 201 (81.71%) medical students perceived that virtual reality is more effective than images in the textbook for teaching embryology.ConclusionIn this study, most of the medical students have a positive attitude toward the embryology course. The first-year curricular integration of embryology and teratology must be maintained, and great effort is required to improve students’ passion for developmental anatomy/embryology. These findings might be utilized as an additional motivation for the improvement of the embryology course, with a focus on the practical application of knowledge in a clinical context.