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.