Factors Affecting Anatomy Learning from the Viewpoints of Medical Students at Basic Sciences Stage

Knowledge of anatomy is the basis of medicine and clinical practices. This study aimed to determine factors affecting anatomy learning from the viewpoint of students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. This cross-sectional study enrolled all students at basic sciences stage at the School of Medicine at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2016 and 2017. A questionnaire was delivered in classrooms by the researchers with the permission of the teachers. Data was analyzed in the SPSS-16 software, employing the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Out of 300 questionnaires, 179 were returned, 71 from male students (39.7%) and 108 from female students (60.3%); 116 (64.8%) in the third semester, 31 (17.3%) in the fourth, and 32 (17.9%) in the physiopathology level. Significant differences were found between the viewpoints of male and female students on the following variables: Use of animation, use of moulages, questions based on references, frequent quizzes, classified tests during the term, and the teachers’ patience, indicating the ‘clear expression of teachers’ with a mean of 4.7 ± 0.47 as the main effective factor. There were significant differences between the mean scores for ‘design of questions based on the sources’ (P < 0.05) and also between the views of physiopathology students and third-year students (P < 0.05). Lecture-based education without proper audio-visual aids lacks popularity among students, resulting in a waste of time and low levels of student learning. Mentioning the clinical aspects and engaging students in clinical issues to improve learning is paramount.