Evaluation of the Necessity of Anatomy During Postgraduate Medical Education

Postgraduate medical education aims to train qualified physicians in different specialties to meet the needs of society. The training provided in this process is mostly clinical training and anatomy training (rotation) is only available in Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery specialty training. However, the anatomy education provided in the first 3 years of medical education does not contain sufficient detail for specialist training. In our study, in which we set out to investigate this hypothesis, we aimed to investigate the anatomy education needs of assistant physicians receiving specialty training and their attitudes toward anatomy. A total of 222 assistant physicians receiving specialty training in internal and surgical branches participated in our study. Participation was voluntary and the survey form was distributed face-to-face. 43.2% of the participants were trained in surgical branches, and 56.8% were trained in internal medicine branches. 93.8% of those trained in surgical branches and 69.8% of those trained in internal medicine branches stated that they needed anatomy knowledge in the department in which they specialize. In specialty training, 72.7% of the participants stated that clinical anatomy training was necessary. Particularly participants who received training in surgical branches stated that they wanted branch-specific anatomy training and wanted to use the anatomy laboratory. As a result, anatomy education is a basic science that is very important not only before graduation but also in clinical branches after graduation. By integrating anatomy education into specialty training, the knowledge gaps of assistant physicians will be closed and qualified physicians with sufficient knowledge will be trained.