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Anatomical Knowledge Retention in Second‐Year Nursing Students
Author(s) -
Narnaware Raj,
Neumeier Melanie
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.607.19
Subject(s) - curriculum , test (biology) , statistical significance , medicine , multiple choice , medical education , set (abstract data type) , health care , health professionals , psychology , nursing , significant difference , pedagogy , biology , computer science , paleontology , economics , programming language , economic growth
Human anatomy and physiology are foundational courses in undergraduate medical, allied health, and nursing curricula, and the significance of these courses in preparing health care professionals cannot be underestimated. However, despite the essential nature of these courses, there is growing concern that students do not retain enough anatomical knowledge to successfully apply it in future classroom and clinical settings. While there are many studies examining anatomical knowledge retention in medical and allied health students, no studies were found that address this concern in nursing students. The aim of this study was to determine how much anatomical knowledge second‐year nursing students retain from their first‐year anatomy class, and to determine if there is a difference in level of retention based on organ system. To address these questions, nurses in their second‐year health assessment course were quizzed on anatomical knowledge that was covered in the first year of their program. For each system students were asked to answer nine to eleven multiple‐choice questions (MCQs). The scores from these quizzes were compared to their first‐year examination scores on the same content to determine overall knowledge retention. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS II and means were compared using 2‐sample t‐tests. The scores are described for each organ system by reporting the mean and standard deviation (SD). Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05 for all tests. The mean score of questions from all the organ systems in year one was 83.05 ± 8.34 (SD). Comparing that score to matched test items from this cohort in year two, there is a significant decrease in the overall mean score from 83.05 ± 8.34 (SD) to 54.36 ± 12.9 (SD), t=6.14, P=0.0001). This equates to a 71.3% retention rate and a 28.7% knowledge loss after one year. System specific knowledge retention was highest for the gastrointestinal system (89.7%), respiratory system (88.5%), and genitourinary system (83.6%). This was followed by the integumentary system (80.1%), special senses (79.4%), nervous system (74.9%) and musculoskeletal system (69.3%). Retention was lowest for the lymphatic system (64.3%), cranial nerves (58.8%), vascular system (53.9%) and head and neck lymphatic (42.6%). The present study shows that nursing students' anatomical knowledge retention was comparatively higher than rates reported by others in medical students and allied‐health students. Retention levels were system specific. This study is now investigating knowledge retention in 3 rd and 4 th year nursing students. Further investigation into why retention is higher for specific systems and interventional strategies to improve knowledge acquisition and retention in nursing students is recommended. Support or Funding Information None This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .