ABSTRACT
Nursing students struggle to retain enough anatomical knowledge to meet their entry to practice competencies, but what knowledge is missing and when this occurs has been previously unexplored. A cohort of 80 nursing students were given multiple choice quizzes to assess their anatomical knowledge on 11 different organ systems during their second, third, and fourth year. Results were analyzed in comparison to their first-year examination scores to determine knowledge loss. Results showed an overall knowledge loss of 33.5% in the second year, 31.8% in the third year, and 29.6% in the fourth year. There were significant differences in system specific results. Special senses (i.e., audition) had a 20.6% loss in the second year, increased in retention to a 17.3% loss in third year, and then decreased to a 37% loss in fourth year. The vascular system had a 46.1% knowledge loss at the second-year assessment, declined to 49% knowledge loss in the third year, but improved to 27.6% knowledge loss by the fourth year. A similar change was observed for the musculoskeletal system with second-year loss at 30.7%, third-year loss at 40.3%, and fourth-year loss at 26.6%. These data suggest there are significant differences in the amount of knowledge retained by nursing students depending on the system being tested and the year the test is taken. Identifying the areas and times where anatomical knowledge is lost and gained is valuable for instructors in any program so that specific topics can be targeted at different times with more effective educational strategies.
Subject(s)
Anatomy , Students, Nursing , Humans , Anatomy/education , Knowledge , CurriculumABSTRACT
Human anatomy is a foundational course in nursing education, however, there is growing concern that students do not retain enough anatomical knowledge to successfully apply it in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to determine retention level of anatomy knowledge among second-year nursing students from their first-year anatomy class, and to determine if there is a difference in level of retention based on organ system. For each system, second-year students were asked to answer 9 to 11 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and the scores from these quizzes were compared to matched test items from their first-year anatomy examinations. There was a significant decrease in the overall mean score from 83.05 ± 8.34 (±SD) in first year to 54.36 ±12.9 in second year (P = 0.0001). Retention levels were system specific. 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 (42.6%). The present study shows that nursing students' anatomy knowledge retention was comparatively higher than rates reported by others in medical and allied-health students. The researchers are now investigating knowledge retention in third- and fourth-year nursing students. Further investigation into why retention is higher for specific systems and intervention strategies to improve knowledge acquisition and retention in nursing students is recommended.
