An appraisal of anatomy teaching and learning by undergraduate nursing students in a multiprofessional context: a study done at a Medical School in South India

AIM: This study was done to assess undergraduate nursing students' perception of the way anatomy is taught in a multiprofessional context. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was done at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University in India. The first year undergraduate nursing students were quantitatively and qualitatively appraised for their perception of the merits and demerits of the present anatomy curriculum. Questionnaires with close-ended and open-ended questions were distributed to the students. It was then statistically analyzed using the software package SPSS. A summative assessment of university examination results of the undergraduate students of the nursing course of the years 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 were empirically compared. The students have rated the time allocated for anatomy teaching as insufficient. CONCLUSION: Nursing curriculum worldwide has undergone innovative changes bringing in newer methods of teaching and learning. It is high time that, the developing countries also follow in their wake and take up the issue of undergraduate nursing curricular reform. After recognizing the drawbacks of the present anatomy curriculum it's high time it is revised for undergraduate nursing student level (Tab. 5, Ref. 17).