perceived usefulness of the dissection sessions provided by the team of five medical students .
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Difference in means was calculated for the questionnaire responses of each year ’ s cohort using the paired t-test in the statistical package add-on in Microsoft Excel .
The MCQ test results were manually corrected and the difference between the average pre- and posttest scores for each year of the PT course were calculated . Difference in means was calculated utilizing the paired t-test . The Mann Whitney U test was used to analyse the Year 3 results due to the low turnout of PT students for that session . Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05 .
RESULTS
Eighty-three PT students attended the hand and 52 PT students attended the foot dissection sessions , and completed pre / post-tests MCQ tests for each session . A total of 107 MCQ tests were completed pre-session ( 79.3 % of participants ), and 63 postsession ( 46.7 % of participants ). Subjects who did not take post-test were removed from the pre-test .
MCQ TEST RESULTS
Tables 1 and 2 show the MCQ results for pre / posthand ( n = 83 ) and foot ( n = 52 ) dissection sessions , respectively . All marks were reported out of 20 . The pass mark was 10 / 20 ( 50 %). In the hand dissection sessions , Year 3 PT students experienced the best improvement in scores by + 3.3 ( SD = 2.9 , t ( 52 )= 2.00 , p < 0.001 ) while Year 2 PT students experienced the least improvement by + 2.7 ( SD = 2.7 , t ( 56 )= 2.00 , p < 0.01 ).
Table 1 : Mean Pre- and Post- Hand Anatomy Demonstration ( Pre , Post respectively ) MCQ Test Scores for Years 1 to 3 Physiotherapy Students ( maximum score = 20 ). Diff = difference between scores , SD = Standard Deviation .
Year |
1 ( n = 26 ) |
2 ( n = 30 ) |
3 ( n = 27 ) |
Mean Score |
Pre |
Post |
Pre |
Post |
Pre |
Post |
|
9.4 |
12.5 |
9.3 |
12.0 |
9.3 |
12.6 |
SD |
2.9 |
2.7 |
3.4 |
2.7 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
Diff |
+ 3.1 |
+ 2.7 |
+ 3.3 |
p-Value |
p < 0.001 |
p < 0.01 |
p < 0.001 |
In the foot dissection sessions , Year 1 PT students experienced the best improvement by + 5.76 ( SD = 2.3 , T ( 48 )= 2.01 , P < 0.001 ) while Year 3 PT students experienced the least improvement by + 3.3 ( SD = 2.2 , p = 0.055 ). All improvements in MCQ test scores were found to be statistically significant .
Table 2 : Mean Pre- and Post- Foot Anatomy Demonstration ( Pre , Post respectively ) MCQ Test Scores for Years 1 to 3 Physiotherapy Students ( maximum score = 20 ). Diff = difference between scores , SD = Standard Deviation .
Year |
|
1 ( n = 25 ) |
|
2 ( n = 21 ) |
3 ( n = 6 ) |
|
Mean Score |
Pre |
Post |
Pre |
Post |
Pre |
Post |
|
7.44 |
13.2 |
8.5 |
13.5 |
9.7 |
13.0 |
SD |
2.3 |
2.3 |
3.0 |
2.1 |
2.9 |
2.2 |
Diff |
|
+ 5.76 |
|
+ 5.0 |
+ 3.3 |
|
p-Value |
p < 0.001 |
p < 0.001 |
p = 0.055 |