Human anatomy is a foundational course in nursing education, however, there is growing concern that students do not retain enough anatomical knowledge to successfully apply it in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to determine retention level of anatomy knowledge among second‐year nursing students from their first‐year anatomy class, and to determine if there is a difference in level of retention based on organ system. For each system, second‐year students were asked to answer 9 to 11 multiple‐choice questions (MCQs), and the scores from these quizzes were compared to matched test items from their first‐year anatomy examinations. There was a significant decrease in the overall mean score from 83.05 ± 8.34 (±SD) in first year to 54.36 ±12.9 in second year (P = 0.0001). Retention levels were system specific. System‐specific knowledge retention was highest for the gastrointestinal system (89.7%), respiratory system (88.5%), and genitourinary system (83.6%). This was followed by the integumentary system (80.1%), special senses (79.4%), nervous system (74.9%), and musculoskeletal system (69.3%). Retention was lowest for the lymphatic system (64.3%), cranial nerves (58.8%), vascular system (53.9%), and head and neck (42.6%). The present study shows that nursing students’ anatomy knowledge retention was comparatively higher than rates reported by others in medical and allied‐health students. The researchers are now investigating knowledge retention in third‐ and fourth‐year nursing students. Further investigation into why retention is higher for specific systems and intervention strategies to improve knowledge acquisition and retention in nursing students is recommended.

中文翻译：

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二年级护理学生对基本解剖学知识的保留。

人体解剖学是护理教育的基础课程，但是，人们越来越担心学生没有保留足够的解剖学知识来成功地将其应用于临床。这项研究的目的是确定从一年级解剖学课程就读的二年级护理专业学生的解剖学知识保留水平，并根据器官系统确定保留水平是否存在差异。对于每个系统，要求二年级学生回答9到11个多项选择题（MCQ），并将这些测验的分数与他们一年级解剖学考试中匹配的测试项目进行比较。总平均分从第一年的83.05±8.34（±SD）显着降低到第二年的54.36±12.9（P= 0.0001）。保留级别是特定于系统的。胃肠系统（89.7％），呼吸系统（88.5％）和泌尿生殖系统（83.6％）的系统特定知识保留最高。其次是外皮系统（80.1％），特殊感觉（79.4％），神经系统（74.9％）和肌肉骨骼系统（69.3％）。保留率最低的是淋巴系统（64.3％），颅神经（58.8％），血管系统（53.9％）和头颈（42.6％）。本研究表明，在医学和专科生中，护生的解剖学知识保留率高于其他人。研究人员现在正在研究三年级和四年级护理学生的知识保留。