Determination of year 1 undergraduate students’ interest in the anatomy bachelor degree program

Abstract

Introduction: Training of anatomists began in Nigeria in 1963, when the Faculty of Medicine of University of Ibadan approved a program of intercalated B.Sc anatomy simultaneously with B.Sc (medical science) in such disciplines as anatomy, physiology, chemical pathology and microbiology. Many Nigerian universities now offer degree programs in anatomy as a biomedical science. It is, however, important to investigate the interest of students who are being admitted to study anatomy as this would most likely affect their performances, motivation and commitment to making a career in anatomy. This investigation was designed to determine the newly admitted students’ interest in anatomy B.Sc program in South-Western Nigerian Universities. Materials and Methods: A total of 209 newly admitted students (year 1) into the B.Sc/B.Tech Anatomy program in the six universities in South-Western Nigeria accredited to run the undergraduate program completed structured questionnaires. Data from the retrieved copies of the questionnaire were collated and analyzed using descriptive statistical methods primarily. Collated data were calculated in percentages for easy comparison, and interest of respondents was determined generally and taking gender into consideration. Result and Discussion: Results show that students had their interests in anatomy affected negatively by initial lack of knowledge of the course and lack of proper career counseling, yet, many students upon admission hoped to work with their skills and knowledge as Anatomists upon graduation. Efforts should be channeled toward proper pre-university career education and counseling relative to the anatomy.