Assessment of medical students’ perception of anatomical pathology teaching methods

Background: Anatomical pathology is an essential component of medical training in the 4th year of medical school and the learning process may be impacted by the effectiveness of delivery methods. This study aimed to assess the perception of medical students on the teaching methods in anatomical pathology. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted between January 2024 and January 2025 among medical students across four universities in Southern Nigeria: University of Port Harcourt, Bayelsa Medical University, Gregory University, and Niger Delta University. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on attendance, preferences, and perceptions of different teaching methods. Responses were entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed in SPSS, applying descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. Results were presented in tables and figures for clarity. Results: A total of 215 students from four the medical schools responded to this study. The majority were in their 5th year of study. Lectures were the preferred teaching method (65.6%), followed by practical demonstrations (26%) and seminar (8.4%). Students rated the quality of pathology lectures as predominantly good. All the practical demonstration tools were said to make Anatomical pathology more understandable. Among interactive study methods, group discussion was the most preferred. Conclusion: This study revealed a strong preference among medical students for lectures, practical sessions, as well as group discussions in learning Anatomical Pathology. These findings highlight the need for educators and medical education college boards to integrate and strengthen these interactive and hands-on teaching approaches within the anatomical pathology curriculum.