Vertical integration of anatomy curriculum in the undergraduate clinical education period: medical students’ perspectives

Objectives: The adaptation of the knowledge and skills acquired in preclinical medical education to the clinics by vertical integration would be more permanent when combined with clinical skills. The aim of the study was to determine the needs of the students in clinical internship education on anatomy and to plan the relevant anatomy subjects before clinical internships by rearranging the curriculum as needed. Methods: The study was carried out on a questionnaire form applied to 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade students of Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine. In addition to demographic information, 16 multiple-choice and open-ended evaluation questions were asked in the questionnaire. Results: 335 students participated in the study. 84.4% of the participants reported that they had needed basic anatomy knowledge and they had to study again before the clinical internship. 69.59% of the participants stated that among the courses taken in the basic sciences education period, anatomy should be integrated into the clinical internships. 88.24% of the participants stated that anatomy education should be integrated before starting clinical internships in the surgical departments. Conclusion: As a result of the feedback received from the students with the current study, it was seen that some of the anatomy information obtained during the preclinical basic sciences period was forgotten until the clinical internship period and they should be remembered again. We support that integrated clinical anatomy lessons should be taken into the clinical education period.