Student's views towards integration of limb anatomy to pre-clerkship medical program in Shahed University in 2009

Following the "Integration Program" of general physician training curriculum recommended by the Department of Medical Education of Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, several concerns raised towards the effect of this program. This study aimed to assess student's view towards integration of limb anatomy course to the pre-clerkship medical program in Iran. The study was conducted on 80 medical students enrolled in the third semester of medical program of Shahed University. Changes in the program according to the syllabus approved by the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution. These changes include new content arrangement, integration of limb anatomy into pre-clerkship medical program, adding useful contents, methods of preparation prior to classroom theory and encouraging team learning. A questionnaire was used to collect students view about the integration program. Students found the integration useful in terms of content of the course (%83), learning effectiveness, lasting of knowledge %78.2, improved clinical skills %66.4, positive attitude toward anatomy %86.4, active participation in a group lesson %70/4 and ability to recall %79.6 respectively. The differences in content course and positive attitude were significant. Medical students showed agreement with this new method and recommended it for other specific courses.