Premedical anatomy experience impact on study time for medical students (534.8)

Abstract

Most medical schools do not require gross anatomy as a prerequisite for admission. Our previous study questioned whether students who had taken an anatomy course prior to medical school performed better in anatomy and in overall academics than students who had not. Data demonstrated that 1st year students at the University of Utah School of Medicine (UofUSOM) showed no statistically significant difference in anatomical or overall academic performance between students who had anatomy and students who did not have anatomy prior to entering the UofUSOM (with the exception of the final practical cadaver exam). A limitation of this previous study was that the survey did not address the relative number of hours spent studying each week by students who had exposure to anatomy prior to entering the UofUSOM to those that did not. The current survey assessed the average number of anatomy and overall weekly study hours self reported by freshman medical students in order to better understand academic performance by students with and without premedical anatomy exposure.