An investigation of the self -efficacy of medical students for the anatomy curriculum: Role of gender and prior experience, and self -efficacy's influence on academic achievement

Anatomical self-efficacy is defined as an individual's judgment of his or her ability to successfully complete tasks such as dissecting, learning anatomical knowledge, and applying anatomical knowledge to clinical situations. This research investigates medical student self-efficacy for the anatomy curriculum. Five surveys containing the same embedded anatomical self-efficacy instrument were completed by first-year medical students at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine; one pre-survey administered prior to students beginning a medial gross anatomy course and four post-surveys administered after students completed examinations during the course. Additional data collected included anatomical experiences prior to medical school, demographic information, MCAT scores, and anatomy exam scores, both written and laboratory practical. The results of the study indicated that when controlling for academic ability, the quantity of anatomical experiences prior to medical school predicted the anatomical self-efficacy of the students at the beginning of the medical anatomy course. However, when controlling for academic ability, prior anatomical experience alone did not predict self-efficacy at the end of the course. Secondly, although males and females were found to have the same quantity of anatomical experiences prior to medical school, on average the female medical students had statistically significant lower anatomical self-efficacy at the beginning of the course than their male classmates, when controlling for academic ability. This difference in anatomical self-efficacy based on gender was found to be still present at the completion of the medical anatomy course. Next, when controlling for academic ability, the self-efficacy rating of each medical student at the beginning of the semester did not predict the final score the student obtained for the medical anatomy course. However, it was found that when controlling for academic ability, the self-efficacy ratings at the time of exam administrations predicted all four laboratory practical scores and two of the four written exam scores. Finally, results indicated that medical student anatomical self-efficacy increased during the course. Implications for anatomy instructors, medical students, and future research are discussed.