Recall of Physiology Knowledge Among Medical Interns: An Exploratory study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore the factors associated with the recall of basic medical physiology knowledge among medical interns and to determine the level of retained basic science knowledge.Two hundred and forty interns, 114 females and 90 males, working in two major tertiary medical care centers, King Fahad Medical City (KFMC 29 students) and King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), 117 students), in Riyadh city, participated in the study. An anonymous knowledge test with 10 validated multiple choice questions was developed specifically for this purpose. One hundred and forty-six interns (117 working at KKUH and 29 at KFMC) had graduated from medical schools adopting a conventional instructional system whereas 58 (3 from KKUH and 55 from KFMC had graduated from schools adopting an integrated system (Hybrid PBL). Fifty-two students (26%) gained a score ≥ 60 %, whereas 152 students (74%) obtained < 60% of the score. Higher scores significant association between recall of physiology knowledge and all other variables studied, including gender. Multivariate analyses show that age and traditional curriculum are the only significant predictors of knowledge retention. Almost three-quarters of the interns scored less than 60% and higher scores were significantly associated with younger interns, traditional curriculum, working in KKUH and interns preparing for graduate studies. However, the difference between the two curricula disappears when the influence of hospital training is considered.

Cardiovascular physiology and autonomic heart control principles: the use of a station rotation strategy to recall basic cardiovascular knowledge among exercise science students

“…The basic science in different biological careers is often quickly forgotten. In fact, medical students in the senior clinical phase do not recall the basic concepts of physiology 20 , and evidence indicates that the nonuse or nonpractice of previously taught knowledge and skills are directly related to the degree of the loss 21,22 . Moreover, some factors associated with retention of basic science knowledge among medical students are age (inverse relationship) and preparation for postgraduate course (direct relationship) 20 .…”