Opare-Asamoah Kwame, Alhassan Zikirillah Sokun
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):900. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07482-3.
Embryology as a course of study is a crucial component of medical education. Despite its importance, students often find it challenging due to the complex, three-dimensional changes that occur during early development, as such, do not have much interest in pursuing a career in this clinical field. This study, therefore, aimed to assess medical students’ attitudes, perceptions, and future career interests towards embryology as a course.
An institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among students pursuing medical education using the Problem-Based Learning pedagogy at northern Ghana’s only public medical school. Participants’ attitudes, perceptions and future career interests in embryology were assessed using a validated questionnaire. A Chi-square analysis was conducted afterwards to determine the relationship between the study variables.
372 medical students in years one to six of their medical training participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 24.72 ± 5.26 years. Regarding attitude, 66.9% (249) of the respondents believed embryology has broad relevance across various medical fields, with 83.1% (309) of the opinion that the course is significant in contemporary medical education and that a medical doctor must have thorough knowledge of it to practice effectively. Also, 76.6% (285) perceived that virtual reality is more effective than images in teaching and learning embryology, with 15.1% (56) expressing their interest in pursuing a career in embryology. Participants in higher levels of study were more likely to pursue a future career in embryology ( = 0.033) and likely to guide their juniors to take up a career in embryology ( = 0.003). Most, 80.1% (298) of the respondents indicated a dissatisfaction with the current teaching methods of the embryology course at the study institution, highlighting the need for more interactive and practical sessions.
Medical students at the study facility appreciate the importance of embryology, however, the current teaching methodologies are inadequate in fostering deep engagement and understanding of the course. There is a clear need to revise the curriculum to include more interactive and practical teaching methods. This revision is crucial to improving students’ learning experiences and their interest in embryology-related careers.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-025-07482-3.
胚胎学作为一门研究课程，是医学教育的重要组成部分。尽管其重要性，但由于早期发育过程中发生的复杂三维变化，学生们往往觉得它具有挑战性，因此，对从事这一临床领域的职业兴趣不大。因此，本研究旨在评估医学生对胚胎学课程的态度、看法和未来职业兴趣。
在加纳北部唯一的公立医学院，对采用基于问题的学习教学法接受医学教育的学生进行了一项基于机构的描述性横断面研究。使用经过验证的问卷评估参与者对胚胎学的态度、看法和未来职业兴趣。随后进行卡方分析以确定研究变量之间的关系。
372名处于医学培训一至六年级的医学生参与了该研究。参与者的平均年龄为24.72±5.26岁。在态度方面，66.9%（249名）的受访者认为胚胎学在各个医学领域都具有广泛的相关性，83.1%（309名）认为该课程在当代医学教育中很重要，并且医生必须对其有透彻的了解才能有效地执业。此外，76.6%（285名）认为虚拟现实在胚胎学教学中比图像更有效，15.1%（56名）表示有兴趣从事胚胎学职业。高年级的参与者更有可能在未来从事胚胎学职业（P=0.033），并且更有可能指导低年级学生从事胚胎学职业（P=0.003）。大多数（80.1%，298名）受访者表示对研究机构目前胚胎学课程的教学方法不满意，强调需要更多的互动和实践课程。
该研究机构的医学生认识到胚胎学的重要性，然而，目前的教学方法在促进对该课程的深入参与和理解方面存在不足。显然需要修订课程，以纳入更多互动和实践教学方法。这一修订对于改善学生的学习体验以及他们对胚胎学相关职业的兴趣至关重要。
在线版本包含可在10.1186/s12909-025-07482-3获取的补充材料。
