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What do medical students learn from the process of dissection?
Author(s) -
Nicholson Helen Diana,
Barrett Anthony,
Martyn Helen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.957.3
Subject(s) - dissection (medical) , medical education , psychology , perspective (graphical) , face (sociological concept) , medicine , anatomy , computer science , sociology , artificial intelligence , social science
Dissection has been argued by Anatomists to be a useful tool for learning Anatomy. The aim of this study was to investigate what students perceive they learn from dissection. Medical students were invited to take part in three electronic surveys. These included both quantitative questions and free text responses and were delivered at the beginning of the programme, soon after their first experience of dissecting and during the last semester of Anatomy teaching. After nearly 2 years >; 80% of students felt that working in the dissecting room had been a positive experience and the level of stress that students experienced working in the dissecting room had decreased. Students identified the hardest parts of dissection as being the smell and cutting the face and the best parts as learning about the body and seeing pathology and evidence of previous surgery in the cadavers. Students reported that dissection had helped them develop a 3D appreciation of the body and an understanding of the importance of biological variation. When asked what they had learnt about themselves the common themes were that they had learnt to work as part of a team, come to terms with death and had increased their self‐confidence by learning to deal with difficult situations. This study provides data from the students’ perspective that dissection is a valuable experience that contributes to both their learning of Anatomy and professional development.