Anatomists’ perceptions of the skills and attributes required of newly-recruited medical students

Publication date: Available online 11 February 2018
Source:Annals of Anatomy - Anatomischer Anzeiger
Author(s): Bernard J. Moxham, Odile Plaisant, Baptiste Lignier, Feisal Brahim
Background and purposeAdmission procedures for recruiting students to medical school vary considerably across the world. Notwithstanding such variability, it is important to know what skills and attributes are required of the students by their teachers on entering medical school.ProceduresAnatomists are often the teachers who first meet the students as they enter medical school and this report analyses, by means of a questionnaire, the putative skills required of their medical students by anatomists from the U.S.A. and Europe.FindingsThe findings from a questionnaire suggest that there are few differences between anatomists in the U.S.A. and Europe, even though medical students are postgraduates in the U.S.A. but undergraduates in Europe. Furthermore, the skill requirements expected of the students differed only slightly according to the gender and age of the anatomists and to whether or not they had clinical qualifications. The most important skills and attributes required of the students were found to be: good study skills and abilities to study independently, understanding of biology (but not chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics, or understanding of the scientific method), memory/factual retention, communication and teamwork skills, problem-solving abilities, and attributes related to life-long learning, readiness to be challenged, and emotional stability and conscientiousness.ConclusionsAnatomists within the U.S.A. and Europe essentially agree on the skills and attributes initially required of their medical students, as well as those not deemed initially important. These findings are presented with the view of enhancing admission policies and procedures for admitting students into medical schools.



http://ift.tt/2EXRnA4