Limitations
Conclusion
References
D ’ Eon ( 2006 ) showed that knowledge decline , when Year 2 medical students were re-tested one year after they sat the original exam , was greater in certain subjects than others . A 46 % decline in knowledge in neuroanatomy , 13 % in immunology and 16 % in physiology was reported . Very similar large declines in neuroanatomical test scores were reported by Stabile ( 2009 ). This suggests that knowledge loss may be related to subject difficulty ( whether or not it was revisited in the retention period ) or perhaps deficiencies in the way material was delivered . Similar results were obtained in the present study where ( apart from a dip in Year 2 ), students performed better with time only in musculoskeletal anatomy , perhaps because of the greater clinical context in which this particular module is taught as compared to the others , or possibly due to reinforcement of the relevant anatomy during the subsequent orthopaedics rotation .
Limitations
It was difficult to recruit students into a study that would have them take a test ( never a pleasant experience ), in a subject they had studied up to five years before . The relatively small numbers of students in the upper years is the major limitation in this study .
Conclusion
This study confirms that although much of what is taught as part of basic sciences in the first couple of years of medical school may not be formally revisited , some anatomical information is retained and improves more significantly with direct clinical relevance . Although resources do not always allow for the vertical integration of knowledge , imparting most , if not all , anatomical information in a clinical context is a good starting point in striving for it to be better retained by future junior doctors .
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