Attitudes of medical students toward anatomy: a cross-sectional study across pre-clinical and clinical phases

Abstract

Anatomy is a fundamental subject taught during the pre-clinical phase of medical education. The Faculty of Medicine, University of Moratuwa, follows a student centred spirally integrated outcome-based curriculum, where students receive early and continuous clinical exposure from their first year. There has been an observable shift in students’ perception of anatomy education, with varying opinions on its relevance in clinical studies. A systematic evaluation of medical students’ attitudes towards the clinical relevance of anatomy remains lacking. This study aims to systematically evaluate and compare students’ attitudes toward the clinical relevance of anatomy education between the pre-clinical and clinical phases..