Importance of anatomy education in physical therapy and rehabilitation in Turkey: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim of this study is to investigate how physiotherapists evaluate the anatomy education they receive on clinical courses and practices in their professional lives.The mean age of the 50 (27F, 23M) physiotherapists was 33, 78±8, 89 and they work in public (n=26) and private sectors (n=24). Face-to-face interviews with physiotherapists were questioned about the duration of the anatomy education and methods. Anatomy educations’ effect on vocational courses, assessment-treatment programs and different physiotherapy disciplines has been investigated.Anatomy education in theoretical courses overhead and PowerPoint were used more often and 44% of them reported that they never saw cadaver. Besides for their educational competence reports 30% were theoretically and 46% were practically inadequate. The effect of the anatomy education on the clinical course was largely considered to be very important. When the effect of anatomy on different physiotherapy disciplines was evaluated, the most important effect on orthopedic rehabilitation (92%) 94% of physiotherapists think anatomic education must continue after graduation.It is concluded that anatomy education is insufficient especially practically, therefore its quality must be increased at graduate level and continuity must be ensured throughout the whole career.
 
Keywords: Anatomy education, physiotherapy, vocational courses.