Characteristics of perception channels of doctors and their changes in the process of professional retraining in the discipline of «Osteopathy»
Authors: Sokolova I. V. , Potekhina Yu. P. 
Published: September 2024

Introduction. Perception is a holistic reflection of objects and phenomena, in which all perception channels — auditory, visual, kinesthetic — are present. The degree of expression of each channel in the general structure of perception differs. Psychological studies usually show the specific weight of perception channels in its general structure in a one-stage «slice» of a certain group of people. No data on the peculiarities of the perception channels of physicians were found in the available literature. There are very few data on the changes of perception channels in one group of subjects over a long period of time.

The aim of the study is to research studying the characteristics of perceptual channels in doctors of different specialties and in the students of professional retraining in the specialty «Osteopathy» in the process of training.

Materials and methods. The cohort, prospective study was conducted during 2022–2023 on the basis of the Institute of Osteopathy, St. Petersburg. The object of the study was the students of the professional retraining cycle in the specialty «Osteopathy» — 32 people aged 30–68 years (median — 46,4 years), 13 men and 19 women. The examination was carried out 3 times, at the end of the 2nd course, at the 3rd course and at the 4th course. Twenty-three subjects completed the 3-fold survey. Also during 2023, a cohort, one-time survey of physicians was conducted on the basis of Samara City Polyclinic № 1: gynecologists — 27 people 27–68 years old (median 42,37 years old), dentists — 25 people 24–61 years old (median 42,5 years old), pediatricians — 26 people 24–70 years old (median 43,6 years old), therapists — 23 people 24–64 years old (median 39 years old). All subjects had completed higher medical education and more than 1 year of work experience. The questionnaire S. A. Efremtseva′s questionnaire «Diagnostics of the dominant perceptual modality» was used, which consists of 48 questions aimed at identifying the predominant perceptual channel in three directions: auditory, visual or kinesthetic. The maximum number of points for each of the three modality channels is 16 and the minimum is 0. The survey was anonymous. In the questionnaire, participants provided data on their gender, age, work experience, and date of the study.

Results. The peculiarity of the structure of dominant channels of perception in doctors (gynecologists, therapists, pediatricians) was revealed: the kinesthetic channel was most often dominant (36–50 %), the visual channel was second (19–30 %), and the polymodal channel was third (19–22 %). The auditory channel as the dominant channel was the most rare, but at least 11 %. Among dentists, the visual channel of perception was predominant in the dominant structure, 40 %, and 4 % less frequently the kinesthetic channel, with polymodal perception dominant in only 4% of cases. In doctors working in the specialties of «Gynecology», «Dentistry», «Pediatrics» and «Therapy» there was no statistically significant difference in the expression of all perception channels (p>0,05). The general structure of perception of primary retraining trainees in the specialty «Osteopathy» underwent changes as the training progressed. The specific weight of the polymodal channel in the general structure of perception increased annually and increased almost 7 times in the 4th course in comparison with the 2nd course (in 43 % of cases the dominance of the kinesthetic channel was combined with the auditory channel, in 57 % — the kinesthetic channel was combined with the visual channel). The specific weight of the auditory channel decreased, and by the 4th course there were no listeners with a dominant auditory channel left. The expression of the kinesthetic channel in the students of the course «Osteopathy» in the course of training systematically increased (p=0,0008). In the 2nd year of training future osteopaths did not differ from doctors of other specialties, in the 4th year they began to differ by greater expression of the kinesthetic channel (p=0,0001). There were no statistically significant dynamics and differences in other channels.

Conclusion. In doctors, the kinesthetic channel of perception most often dominates. In the students of professional retraining in the specialty «Osteopathy», as the training progressed, there was a further increase in the expression of the kinesthetic channel of perception. Its greatest increase occurred in the 4th year of training, and future osteopaths began to differ from doctors of other specialties by this indicator.