Attitudes of residents and anesthesiologists toward basic sciences.

The perceived relevance of the subject matter is an essential condition for adult learning. Attitudes refer to internal states that influence learner's choices of personal action, which determine the probability of learning behaviors. Our objectives in this study were to describe and compare attitudes of residents and anesthesiologists towards the relevance of basic sciences to clinical practice. An 8-item questionnaire was given to 105 residents and 142 anesthesiologists. Data were electronically collected. Responses were graded on 5-level Likert scales. Comparisons were made between responses of residents and anesthesiologists. Although a general pattern of acknowledged relevance of basic sciences to clinical practice was observed in both groups, anesthesiologists' ratings were significantly higher than residents' ratings. Both groups emphasized in-depth formal learning of basic sciences before their clinical application, but attending anesthesiologists' scores were significantly higher than residents' scores. Residents were more favorable to a more superficial approach represented by learning general concepts than anesthesiologists, although median scores were below the center of the scale (neutral). In both groups median ratings of the role of instructors in exciting residents' curiosity through the teaching of basic sciences were located in the center of the respective scales. Both groups rated their in-training educational experiences high.