Reaction of Medical Students to Experiences in Dissection Room

Abstract

BackgroundAs preclinical medical students start and/or enter the course, they go through the anatomy curriculum, which involves interaction with cadavers and cadaveric material. The objective of this study was to determine the reactions of preclinical medical students from year two and year three to the dissecting room.MethodsQuestionnaire was distributed to all second and third year medical students. The questionnaire was designed with the objective of identifying specific patterns of attitudes held and problems faced by the students in their first exposure to the human cadaver. The results are analyzed statistically using the SPSS 16.0 software and P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe commonest symptoms experienced were loss of appetite (43.29% year 2 and 34.86 % third year students). The commonest cause of their symptoms was studied and the result shows that it was the smell of the dissection room, as reported by 67.01% of year two students; and 54.12% for year 3 students.ConclusionThe present study findings show that smell of the dissection room, touch and fear of cadaver were the commonest cause of their symptoms experienced while study in dissection room for the majority of students. Thus, instructors are should give awareness raising education before the commencement of the dissection session to the students both mentally and emotionally ready to do their work enthusiastically and confidently. Moreover, it is necessary to make the laboratory tidy for the students so that they develop a love for the dissection room.

Anxiety among Medical Students when Faced with the Practice of Anatomical Dissection

“…The “Smell of the dissecting room” is a negative reaction whose perception as unpleasant increases with time. Students, particularly female students, do not seem to get used to it, with figures similar to those indicated by other studies, at between 60% and 90% (Dinsmore et al, ; Leboulanger, ; Getachew, ; Mompeó Corredera, ; Wilson et al, ). Other studies, however, show considerably lower values, at around 40% (Cahill and Ettarh, ; Arora and Sharma, ; Bati et al, ; Qamar and Osama, ; Dissabandara et al, ).…”

“…Some researchers advocate introducing courses to prepare students to face death and the treatment of dying patients, some even encourage ceremonies of gratitude to donors following dissection courses (Tschernig et al, 2000;Aziz et al, 2002;Van Wyk and Rennie, 2015). But even though the experience of the dissecting room can upset some students' emotional balance (Arráez-Aybar et al, 2007Plaisant et al, 2011;Getachew, 2014;Grochowski et al, 2014;Boeckers and Boeckers, 2016), they still consider the experience "satisfactory" or even "very satisfactory," and, in fact, 100% of our students recommended that it be retained for future courses (Cahill and Ettarh, 2009;Boeckers and Boeckers, 2016). The decrease in "state anxiety" levels could be due, as some researchers suggest, to a coping mechanism for avoiding adverse reactions.…”

Learning from human cadaveric prosections: Examining anxiety in speech therapy students

“…Although 32% of students participating in the current study had prior contact with cadavers, previous studies have indicated that dissection can still be a source of stress, even for those who have had experience with the process (Miguel Pérez et al, ; Boeckers et al, ; Leboulanger, ; Bob et al, ). Indeed, dissection has been shown to challenge students' emotional equilibrium (Arráez‐Aybar et al, 2004b, 2007, 2008; Getachew, ), and researchers believe that the varying degrees of anxiety experienced by students may be related to students' coping mechanisms. Indeed, it has been shown that communication between students regarding potentially stressful experiences in the dissection room decreases overall stress responses (Miguel Pérez et al, ; Casado et al, ).…”

Reflective journals: unmasking student perceptions of anatomical education

“…loss of appetite [45], dizziness [64], palpitations [27] and restlessness (Table 4). Table 5 outlines a number of physical and psychological factors emanating from student-cadaveric interaction.…”