Perception of Medical Microbiology by 400l Medical Student of Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

Medical microbiology is a specialty in medicine that studied microorganisms that are capable of infecting and causing diseases in humans. It is also concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the infections of man. It cannot be emphasized enough that a solid understanding of microbiology is the foundation for a good clinical practice. It is therefore important to understanding the students’ perception towards this subject. Aim This study was aimed at understanding the students’ perception regarding microbiology as a subject and about the effectiveness of the various teachinglearning methods currently used by lecturers in the department. Materials & Methods This study was carried out on 110 4th year medical students’ of 2019/2020 academic session who are about to write the 2nd MBBS examination. A 4-point Likert-type scale structured questionnaire with questions pertaining to students’ perception of medical microbiology were administered and responses were analyzed. Results Majority of the students (85.5%) believed that microbiology is an integral part of medicine. About 88% of them agreed that a sound knowledge of microbiology is useful for their clinical practice. 37.3% of the student believed that lecturers made the lectures interesting while 46% believed the practical sessions were not helpful. A little above half (53.6%) agreed that participation was encouraged during classes while 72.7% had opportunity to ask questions and 60.0% believed their questions were answered satisfactorily. 70% of the student believed that the revision classes were helpful. Notable among the changes suggested by the students is the need to improve on the teaching style by lecturers (70%). Conclusion Our study showed that most students had a positive attitude towards microbiology as a subject and believed it is pivotal to clinical medicine. However, a need to improve on the teaching style by lecturers were emphasized from the responses