Human anatomy and clinical nursing practice

Abstract

Introduction and Objective: Human anatomy is an essential component of the undergraduate nursing curriculum for learning the specific disciplines which deal with clinical practice. Anatomical knowledge provides assurance for the practice of clinical assessment and invasive procedures of legal competence of nurses.  The aim of the study was to analyze the correlation of the content taught in the discipline Human Anatomy with the clinical practice of undergraduate nursing students in the discipline Semiology and Semiotics in Nursing and The Care Process, as well as their assurance to start it.

Methods: Quantitative descriptive study with the application of an online questionnaire to 66 undergraduate nursing students at a public education institution in the interior of São Paulo. Data analysis by number of occurrences and Chi-square test.

Results: There was partial agreement about the interdisciplinarity between human anatomy and disciplines of clinical nursing practice. The students agreed to be partially assured about the procedures to start the semiological practice of different devices and to perform nursing procedures. The predominance of the superficial approach to content related to the clinical practice of the disciplines Semiology and Semiotics in Nursing and The Care Process was predominant.

Conclusions: The teaching of human anatomy, along the lines offered, maintains an unsatisfactory correlation with clinical practice due to the students’ experience, interfering with learning, acting in clinical teaching and professional training.