Teaching Anatomy: Viewpoints of Iranian Anatomists

Abstract

Background: Iranian Anatomists are experts in different areas of Anatomy and they use different teaching methods. Although there are some cultural and social barriers for cadaver dissection in Iran, it is still a widely used method of teaching Anatomy. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe current teaching methods and ideal methods from Anatomists’ point of view. Materials and Methods: We used a questionnaire containing 50 questions about teaching methods and demographic information of Iranian Anatomists. We used Mann- Whitney U test for comparing quantitative and ordinal scale variables and accurate test of Fisher for qualitative variables. Results: Our findings showed that 82% of Iranian Anatomists use lecture and 83.5% of them believe dissection is the best method for teaching Anatomy. According to our study, Anatomists in Iran agree that clinical points and applied contents should be used in comjuction to the above methods. Some Iranian Anatomists have started to change their methods of teaching; however all of them should get familiar with new teaching techniques. Conclusions: Considering the recent advances in medical curriculum it seems that teaching anatomy should be improved by shifting to new methods in teaching and evaluation.