ERIC Number: EJ1391155
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1935-9772
EISSN: EISSN-1935-9780
Comparing the Emotional Experiences of Students in Similar Dissection- and Prosection-Based Medical Gross Anatomy Courses: A Mixed-Methods Study
Anatomical Sciences Education, v16 n5 p926-942 Sep-Oct 2023
The anatomy laboratory can incite strong emotional reactions in students, which can in turn facilitate growth in empathy, care for vulnerable others, and professionalism. Despite this, little is known about the relative emotional impacts of different laboratory modalities. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to compare the emotional experiences of students in similar courses in which one group of students dissected donors and the other group learned from prosected donors. The courses were otherwise the same in content, length, instructional design, and assessment. Students in the dissection-based (Fall 2019) and prosection-based (Fall 2020) courses completed a previously validated survey that used quantitative and qualitative questions to assess their feelings about the donors and the anatomy laboratory experience. Students in both cohorts reported overall appreciation for having had the experience. Negative themes experienced by both groups included feeling anxiety, worries about depersonalizing donors, and physical discomfort in the laboratory. Students in the dissection course reported stronger connections with the donors and the donors' families but also more frequently felt negative feelings such as disgust, anxiety, and feeling alone. Students in the prosection course reported more consistently positive responses but worried about not using the donors to the fullest extent possible. Regardless of pedagogical design, students have complex emotional experiences in the anatomy laboratory and our results indicate that these feelings may be more intense in the context of dissection. Anatomists should foster educational settings that enable students to learn to process complex or challenging emotions.
Descriptors: Anatomy, Medical Education, Laboratory Procedures, Emotional Response, Emotional Experience, Student Attitudes, Anxiety, Medical Students
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A