Human anatomy is a foundational course in nursing education, however, there is growing concern that students do not retain enough anatomical knowledge to successfully apply it in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to determine retention level of anatomy knowledge among second‐year nursing students from their first‐year anatomy class, and to determine if there is a difference in level of retention based on organ system. For each system, second‐year students were asked to answer 9 to 11 multiple‐choice questions (MCQs), and the scores from these quizzes were compared to matched test items from their first‐year anatomy examinations. There was a significant decrease in the overall mean score from 83.05 ± 8.34 (±SD) in first year to 54.36 ±12.9 in second year (P = 0.0001). Retention levels were system specific. System‐specific knowledge retention was highest for the gastrointestinal system (89.7%), respiratory system (88.5%), and genitourinary system (83.6%). This was followed by the integumentary system (80.1%), special senses (79.4%), nervous system (74.9%), and musculoskeletal system (69.3%). Retention was lowest for the lymphatic system (64.3%), cranial nerves (58.8%), vascular system (53.9%), and head and neck (42.6%). The present study shows that nursing students’ anatomy knowledge retention was comparatively higher than rates reported by others in medical and allied‐health students. The researchers are now investigating knowledge retention in third‐ and fourth‐year nursing students. Further investigation into why retention is higher for specific systems and intervention strategies to improve knowledge acquisition and retention in nursing students is recommended.

No abstract

Anatomy is physiotherapy's foundation. However, undergraduate classroom learning and knowledge acquisition‐retention remain questionable. This study explored the possibility of improving this learning experience and evaluates the gross anatomy of abdomen and pelvis short‐term knowledge retention among first‐year physiotherapy students in Malta. The online Kahoot! game‐based quiz platform was used through an instructor‐designed best‐of‐four multiple‐choice questions. Correctly answered questions and Kahoot! scores generated by the platform were utilized to measure knowledge retention. Kahoot! sessions 1 and 3 shared similar attendance and response rate and were compared together. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare Kahoot! scores and Chi test for trend to compare correctly answered questions. Students' perceived learning experiences before and after the introduction of the Kahoot quizzes were gathered through Likert scores and analyzed using McNamar's chi‐square test. Overall, a significantly increased trend in correctly answered questions (χ2: 23.38, p‐value: <0.001) across the Kahoot! sessions were evident. Four questions out of 12 exhibited significant Kahoot! scores differences. Students reported better learning experiences following the initiation of Kahoot! (χ2: 5.1, p‐value: 0.02). Indeed, all students agreed that the use of the interactive quiz improved their anatomy short term knowledge retention. Introducing an online interactive quiz as part of the lecture program may be useful to improve the learning experience and anatomy knowledge retention among physiotherapy students.

Anatomy examinations often have a key visual component with the inclusion of many images, and research shows that visualization can have a positive effect on learning (Vorstenbosch et al., 2013) while altering learner's cognitive load, memory and examination anxiety (Mayer RE, 2005). However, most of the studies on the effects of images on anatomy examinations are focused in medical, pre‐nursing, or pre‐health science students but have not yet been assessed in nursing students. To assess the effects of images on anatomy examination scores, quizzes and final examination containing multiple‐choice questions with greater or lesser anatomical images was assessed. Results show that inclusion of more anatomical images in a multiple‐choice anatomy quiz (quizzes #1 and 2, section BN01) significantly (P<0.01) increased their percent class average compared to a similar quiz with fewer images (Quiz #1 and 2, section BN02). In quiz#3, reducing the number of images by 50% in anatomy section BN01 resulted in a significant decrease (P<0.05) in their percent class average compared to an image‐rich quiz in section BN02. However, the final anatomy examination containing an equal number of images in both anatomy sections (BN01 & BN02) did not alter their percent class average. Interestingly, the percent score of individual questions from the examinations with images was significantly higher than the same questions without images. In conclusion, the results from this study indicate that image inclusion in anatomy examinations can have a positive impact on recall of anatomical knowledge and may provide a hint to an answer in anatomy examinations in nursing students.Support or Funding InformationNoneThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Human anatomy and physiology are considered foundational courses in medical, allied health, and nursing disciplines and serve as prerequisites for future theory courses and nursing clinicals. Numerous studies have demonstrated the difficulty for medical and allied health students to acquire, transfer, retain, and apply knowledge from these courses in subsequent years of their programs. However, most knowledge retention studies of anatomy and physiology have been carried out with a focus on medical and allied health students and have rarely been assessed in nursing students. In addition, most studies of interventions in anatomy and physiology have emphasized factors affecting knowledge acquisition in the first year of nursing, and little is known about knowledge retention and application during subsequent years of nursing. This review highlights the current status of knowledge retention in nursing education, identifies potential gaps, and discusses interventional strategies to bridge the gap between the classroom and future theory courses and nursing clinicals.