Methods
This study was a prospective cross-sectional questionnaire-based study
involving resident doctors in O&G between 1st August 2019 and 1st
December 2019. Inclusion criteria required the resident doctor to be
currently in a training program and willing to take part in the study.
The questionnaire was designed by the research team with modification
based on a previously published report 6. Prior to
approving the final version, face validity was established where 38
Fellows and Members of the Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists (RCOG) in Jordan were invited to comment on the draft
questionnaire, and their comments were considered. In addition, a group
of 15 resident doctors in O&G in various training years were asked to
review the questionnaire, and their comments were also considered in the
final version of the questionnaire which was used in the study. The
questionnaire which included a list of 54 anatomical structures was
distributed to the various hospitals where there are O&G residency
programs and the study was left open for four weeks. In addition,
resident doctors were invited to take part in the study where
participation was voluntary and personal identification data were not
collected. Furthermore, a reminder to take part in the study was sent to
the various departments fourteen days after the start of the study.
Data collected included age, gender, and overall surgical anatomy
knowledge as rated by the resident doctors using a five-point Likert
scale (very poor, poor, average, good, and very good) along with if the
residents ever attended formal surgical anatomy lectures or workshops
and if the trainee would like to attend a formal workshop. In addition,
they were asked to rate the value of medical school anatomy courses
relevant to O&G training using a five-point Likert scale (no value,
limited value, average value, much value, and extreme value).
Moreover, resident doctors were asked about the average number of common
O&G surgical procedures they assisted in or performed either
independently or supervised every month. They were also asked to report
the frequency of receiving demonstrations of surgical anatomy by senior
colleagues during operating theatre sessions using a five-point Likert
scale (hardly ever, occasionally, sometimes, frequently, and almost
always).
Resident doctors were finally asked to rate their knowledge about the
defined 54 anatomical structures on a five-point Likert scale (very
poor, poor, average, good, and very good). The anatomical structures are
shown in Table S 1.