A self-report survey on the relationship between memory retention of physiology and clinical reasoning ability in medical students :a need for vertical integration

A lack of integration between basic sciences, including physiology, and clinical practice is a problem in medical education that may interfere with clinical reasoning. In this study, we evaluated the attitude of medical students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences toward this issue.

A total of 273 clinically active medical students participated in the study, comprising 117 externs, 53 interns, and 103 residents. Externs and interns are medical students with indirect and direct exposure to real patients, respectively, while residents are medical doctors pursuing specialization. The questionnaire included two questions focused on “memory retention of physiology” and “clinical application of physiology.”

The percentage of students who reported having a little/fair amount of physiology content in their memory was significantly higher than those who claimed to have much/very much physiology knowledge in their memory: 90.6% (106) versus 9.4% (11) in externs, 84.9% (45) versus 15.1% (8) in interns, and 84.46% (87) versus 15.53% (16) in residents (P<0.001). Additionally, there was a significant increase in the number of students who stated that the loss of physiology knowledge interferes with their clinical reasoning compared to those who did not have such an idea: 81.2% (95) versus 18.8% (22) in externs, 77.36% (41) versus 22.64% (12) in interns, and 78.64% (81) versus 21.36% (22) in residents (P<0.001).

Clinically active medical students at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences recognize the importance of physiology for enhancing clinical performance. They acknowledge that difficulties in remembering this knowledge can have adverse effects on the future practice of doctors.