The Effect of the Self-Efficiency Levels of University Students in Health Departments for the Anatomy Course on Exam Anxiety

Abstract

Having an understanding of anatomy in many clinical applications facilitates its implementation. It is important to understand the extent to which self-efficacy and test anxiety influence students' performance in order to establish if the objectives of the anatomy course has been met. This study was conducted to compare the views of the students about the anatomy course and to evaluate the influence of self-efficacy level on test anxiety. This descriptive study includes 384 students studying at the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and Vocational School of Health Services during the 2021-2022 academic year. In this study; a questionnaire form, the Perception of Self-Efficacy Scale for Anatomy Class and the Test Anxiety Scale were used. According to the findings of the analyses, the students' willingness to choose the department of anatomy, self-efficacy levels and their outlooks towards the anatomy course according to their education level were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The self-efficacy perception levels of the students enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine were observed to be higher than those in the undergraduate group (p <0.05). Meanwhile, a statistically significant difference was found between students' test anxiety levels, gender, nationality, and willingness to choose the department (p<0.05). In general, a strong negative correlation exists between the self-efficacy of the students participating in the research and their test anxiety. The results of this study reflect the relationship between students' anatomy self-efficacy and test anxiety. In line with the forthcoming research on this subject, it is believed that making anatomy education more permanent will contribute to the future training of competent health workers and reduce levels of occupational anxiety.