The Impact of a Gross Anatomy Curriculum With Donor Family Interaction: Thematic Analysis of Student Letters to Silent Mentors

Abstract

Purpose Tzu Chi University’s anatomy curriculum incorporates interaction with donors’ families and regards body donors as silent teachers and altruistic role models. In this silent mentor program (SMP), students learn about their donor’s life before dissection to better appreciate the selfless donation. This study explores the influence of the program on students’ humanistic literacy based on student letters to silent mentors, which students wrote near the end of the program and laid by the silent mentor during the coffining ceremony. Method The study included 125 letters from third-year medical students who took the gross anatomy curriculum in academic years 2015, 2016, and 2017. With student consent, the program collated and published the letters in the open-access SMP yearbook. Using thematic analysis, the authors manually analyzed the letters in their original Mandarin, with the names of students made anonymous to ensure the authors were blind to students’ identity throughout the study. Results The analysis identified 3 themes and 11 subthemes. Theme 1, my silent mentor, included 3 subthemes: life characteristics, altruistic attitude, and expectation of offering body. Theme 2, connection to silent mentor and family, included 4 subthemes: intersubjective bonding, emotive first encounter, spiritual communication, and encouragement from silent mentor. Theme 3, reflection and transformation, included 4 subthemes: reflection on life and death, professional self-expectation, inner transformation, and feedback action. Conclusions The findings suggest that interactions with donors’ families increased students’ appreciation of the donation and enhanced students’ humanistic literacy. Further, the letters seem to indicate that the SMP inspired students to develop a grateful, respectful, and empathic attitude toward life and their career. Thus, by implementing similar programs, gross anatomy curricula could go beyond the acquisition of structural knowledge to the cultivation of medical students’ humanistic literacy.

Honoring human body donors: Five core themes to consider regarding ethical treatment and memorialization

“…25,29,42 In Taiwan, China, and Malaysia, body donors are called "silent mentors" or "silent virtuous teachers". [43][44][45][46][47][48][49] The terms "teacher" or "mentor" are nouns stemming from a verb ("to teach") and connote an active process that consistently reminds students that the donors have given their bodies so that they can learn from them.…”

“…Incorporating methods to honor the donors at the beginning of the course, before dissection begins, can both help to alleviate student concerns about dissecting humans as well as instill an increased sense of responsibility toward the donor. 43,46 Medical schools in several countries offer a formal ceremony to honor the donors prior to dissection to help foster empathy and professionalism in students: China, 46 Taiwan, 43,44 Thailand, 42 New Zealand. 19,20 Other universities simply offer students time for a "silent tribute" 53 or reflection 68 after a lecture on ethical practices in the laboratory prior to dissection.…”

Becoming Silent Mentors: Buddhist Ethics Regarding Cadaver Donations for Science in Taiwan

“…Students learn in that the cadaver on the table was a real person and was given to them as a precious gift from the tearful bereaved. A recent study shows the silent mentor program significantly improves students' humanistic literacy (Chu et al 2022). The persistent and grave emotional practices that family endeavored through are what make the rituals sincere, and hence powerful.…”

“…A recent study shows the silent mentor program significantly improves students' humanistic literacy (Chu et al. 2022). The persistent and grave emotional practices that family endeavored through are what make the rituals sincere, and hence powerful.…”

Would you donate your body? Attitudes of students of nursing and physiotherapy towards body donation for educational and scientific purposes

“…The authors who conducted studies on body donation emphasize that encounters with the donor's body are of utmost importance for the student. Body donors are even referred to as first patients or silent teachers [18,28]. An important role in the entire process of education and in the attitude to donors' bodies is attributed to the ceremonial burials, in the course of which students have the possibility to personally meet the families of donors [20,23,27].…”