Assessing Student Reflections on the Biophysics Curriculum: Insights into Perceptions and Future Expectations

Biophysics is essential for medical students as it provides a critical understanding of the physical principles underlying biological systems. Also, it enhances clinical practices and comprehension of medical technologies in medical education. Despite the significance of biophysics in the medical field, students' reflection on this subject remains a concern. This study assessed medical student' reflections on the biophysics curriculum regarding their perception and future expectations. To achieve research objectives, the reflection survey questionnaire was developed based on the Gibbs reflection model that consisted of (20) questions in the form of a 5-point Likert scale (1= strongly agree to 5= strongly disagree) and administered to 153 medical students (71 male and 82 female students) who enrolled in the first grade of faculty of medicine in Duhok university in the Iraqi-Kurdistan region. An ANOVA test was used to evaluate students’ perception towards the biophysics curriculum, an ANOVA test was used, and the data indicated that 68 students (44.44%) had high perception, and 60 students (39.22%) showed medium perception. In comparison, only 25 students (16.34%) had a negative perception. To identify students’ insight toward biophysics, a t-test was used, and the data showed that 65 (42.48%) reported poor education insight; conversely, 88 students (57.52%) indicated a good education. These findings highlight that many students perceive the biophysics curriculum positively, although a significant proportion views it less favourably. The analysis of the correlation between student perception levels of the biophysics curriculum and their education insight categories reveals a significant correlation with a p-value of <0.0001. This correlation highlights that students who perceive the curriculum more favourably are likelier to report better educational insights. These results indicate that enhancing elements of the curriculum that students view negatively can improve their understanding and perception of the subject.