Impact of cadaveric surgical anatomy training on urology residents knowledge: a preliminary study

Abstract

Objective: Cadaveric dissection is used as a major tool for anatomy education at the medical school. In this study we aimed to determine how a uro-anatomy cadaveric dissection course would impact urology residents knowledge.

Materials and methods: A three days course was given to 50 urology residents by experienced trainers in 1-3 June 2012 at Ege University Medical School's Anatomy Department, İzmir, Turkey. Efficacy of the course was assessed using a multiple choice questionnaire of 20 questions given before and after the course.

Results: Completed questionnaires before and after the course were available for 25 residents (50%) that were included. Residents answered correctly to 11.7 out of 20 questions (59%) before the course and 13.0 out of 20 (65%) after (p<0.05). In individuals analysis, 16 residents (64%) increased their scores, 4 (16%) had similar scores and 5 (20%) had lower scores. The number of correct answers for 6 out of the 20 questions was lower following the course.

Conclusion: This cadaveric surgical anatomy course was effective in improving surgical anatomy knowledge for most urology residents but not all and helped to identify ways to improve the course in the future.

Keywords: Anatomy; cadaver; education; training; urology.

Figure 1.

Flow chart of the study

Figure 2.

Number of correct answers before and after the course for each resident

Figure 3.

Number of correct answers before and after the courses for each question