Perception of anatomy as a career choice among students of human anatomy in Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Anatomy is the branch of medical science that deals with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. It has encroached into so many disciplines and thus its relevance to career choice. This research work is aimed at assessing the perceptions of anatomy as a career choice among students studying human anatomy in Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Simple random sampling technique was used to select 384 participants (168 males and 216 females) from the 2nd to the 4th year studying human anatomy and cell biology in Delta State University, Abraka, aged 16–32 years. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data for the study, and the data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 23). RESULTS: This study revealed that students with the perception of choosing anatomy as a career after graduation are significantly low compared to those who have no interest in anatomy as a career choice with the percentages of 39% and 61%, respectively. CONCLUSION: From the study conducted, human anatomy as a career choice has relatively low perception among students because anatomy was not their preferred course of study; rather, the course was offered to them on demerit on their first preferred course of study.