Differences of Interest in Human Body Structures Among Paramedics from Various Specialized Fields: A Study Aiming at an Effective Anatomical Instruction

Abstract

This study aimed to identify human body areas in which paramedical students are particularly eager to observe and that are of interest in relation to the type of healthcare profession by means of a questionnaire after anatomical observation. A total of 840 students from 27 schools who visited Chiba University School of Medicine for anatomical tours, were examined after responding to the open questionnaire along with their consent. Terms of the human body structure that were of high interest were abstracted from the responses, and the frequency was analyzed according to individual specialized field. As a result, 1746 words were abstracted overall, and a high level of interest was identified in the nervous system (482 words), digestive system (425 words), cardiovascular system (305 words), musculoskeletal system (254 words), and respiratory system (183 words) sequentially. When considering individual specialized fields, the highest interest was found in the nervous system by nurses, acupuncturists, and emergency medical technicians, the digestive system by pharmacists and nutritionists, and the musculoskeletal system by rehabilitationists. When providing instruction during the observation, explanation should focus on areas of higher interest, as clarified in this study. At the same time, instruction in less interesting but are still important areas for the students in their specialized field must be provided with ingenuity to cultivate interest.Mini-abstract: Highly interesting human body structures were the nervous system, digestive system, and musculoskeletal system, for nurses, acupuncturists, and emergency medical technicians; pharmacists and nutritionists; and the rehabilitation field, respectively.