Basic science confidence in senior medical students from the University of Auckland, New Zealand: results of the 2005 Senior Students Survey

Aims To determine the proportion of senior medical students who feel their knowledge of the basic sciences is adequate for safe medical practice. Design Cross-sectional survey. Twenty-five point questionnaire. Likert scale response ranking. Setting University of Auckland School of Medicine, Auckland, New Zealand. Participants 218 surveys were emailed to functioning addresses of fourth and fifth year students. 156 students emailed responses (71.60% response rate), comprising 55% of the total fourth and fifth year student population. Results: Thirty-three percent of respondents (95% CI 0.26-0.41) felt their knowledge of anatomy was adequate. Seventeen percent (95% CI 0.12-0.24) of students felt their knowledge of pharmacology was adequate. Fifty-six percent (95% CI 0.48-0.64) of all respondents felt their knowledge of physiology was adequate. Forty-six percent (95% CI 0.38-0.54) of all respondents felt their knowledge of pathology was adequate Seventy-six percent (95% CI 0.69-0.83) felt their behavioural science knowledge was adequate. A greater proportion of respondents were confident in behavioural science than any other basic science (p<0.01). Conclusion Respondents to the 2005 senior medical students survey from the University of Auckland School of Medicine are most confident in their behavioural sciences knowledge. Respondents are least confident in their knowledge of pharmacology.