Opinions of South African physiotherapists on gross anatomy education for physiotherapy students.
Dorothy Shead, Ronel Roos, Benita Olivier and 1 others
PMID 31392292WHAT IT FOUND
South African physiotherapists said gross anatomy education should be clinically relevant, hands-on and emotionally supported.
They valued dissection for three-dimensional understanding, disliked large classes and tedious lectures, and prioritised musculoskeletal, spinal cord, nerve, brain, limb and lung content.
Key findings
01Five focus groups included 32 physiotherapists, and analysis produced seven themes about gross anatomy education.
02Dissection was the most frequently identified code in this theme (n=24, 41%), and its three-dimensional whole-body perspective was appreciated.
03Muscle and spinal cord were the most frequently identified content codes (n=19, 23%), and brain and lungs were also highly rated.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The participants were physiotherapists in one South African province, so the themes may not apply to other countries or professions. The study did not measure patient outcomes or clinical performance, so it cannot show whether any curriculum improves practice. The authors noted that public sector participants were young and clinically limited, and that the academic viewpoint came from one university. The analysis was based on 32 participants in five focus groups, so it is a view of education, not a general population estimate.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that a specific anatomy curriculum improves physiotherapy practice or patient outcomes. The study reports opinions from 32 South African physiotherapists about education, not a tested intervention.