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Relationship Between Anatomy Practical Anxiety and Students’ Performance in Practical Examinations

Abstract

The study examines the relationship between anatomy practical anxiety and students’ performance in practical examinations among undergraduate students. Anatomy practical examinations require students to identify anatomical structures, landmarks, specimens, models, and images within limited periods and may create anxiety due to the practical nature of the assessment, time constraints, unfamiliar specimens, and fear of making identification errors. Practical anxiety may influence students’ concentration, recall, confidence, and ability to demonstrate previously acquired anatomical knowledge. The study will therefore investigate the relationship between students’ level of anatomy practical anxiety and their performance during practical examinations. The specific objectives will include determining the level of anatomy practical anxiety among students, assessing students’ performance in practical anatomy examinations, examining the relationship between practical anxiety and practical examination scores, and identifying aspects of practical examinations associated with higher levels of anxiety. Attention will be given to anxiety related to specimen identification, time-limited practical stations, anatomical terminology, unfamiliar structures, and performance under examination conditions. A cross-sectional descriptive research design will be adopted for the study. Undergraduate students enrolled in anatomy or related health science programmes will be selected using an appropriate sampling technique. Data will be collected using a structured questionnaire or standardized anatomy practical anxiety scale and a practical anatomy performance assessment involving specimens, models, diagrams, images, anatomical identification, and relevant questions. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, while an appropriate correlation or inferential statistical test will be used to determine the relationship between anatomy practical anxiety and examination performance. The study is expected to reveal a relationship between students’ level of practical anxiety and their performance in anatomy practical examinations. Students with higher levels of practical anxiety may experience greater difficulty with concentration, recall, structure identification, and time management during practical assessments. Anxiety may be particularly noticeable when students encounter unfamiliar, small, closely related, or visually similar anatomical structures and when several identification tasks must be completed within a limited period. The findings will be useful to anatomists, anatomy educators, medical educators, curriculum planners, and other health science educators involved in practical anatomy instruction and assessment. The study may provide useful information on the role of emotional and examination-related factors in students’ practical anatomy performance. It may also support the development of appropriate preparation strategies, familiarization activities, supportive practical sessions, and assessment practices that can help students approach practical anatomy examinations with greater confidence and preparedness. The study will conclude by determining the relationship between anatomy practical anxiety and students’ performance in practical examinations. It is recommended that anatomy educators provide adequate practical preparation, repeated exposure to examination-type activities, clear assessment procedures, and supportive learning environments to help students manage practical examination anxiety, while further studies involving larger and more diverse student populations should be conducted to provide broader evidence on factors associated with practical anatomy examination performance.

Keywords: Anatomy practical anxiety, practical examination performance, anatomy education, undergraduate students, practical anatomy, examination anxiety, anatomical identification, anatomy assessment, anatomical knowledge, practical examination, anatomy learning, student performance, anatomical structures, assessment preparation, medical education.