Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students’ Speeches at Memorial Services for Body Donors

Student speeches are a common component at medical school memorial ceremonies for body donors. Although some individual speeches have been published, there is no available research on the content within them. This study qualitatively analyzed medical students’ speeches in 28 recorded services retrieved from medical school websites. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to quantify the number of speeches (138), the length of speeches, and the number of memorialized donors (3,004). Six themes emerged from the data: (1) Each donor’s sacrifice impacts learning and future patient care; (2) The donors’ loved ones deserve recognition; (3) The donors are “first patients” and teachers; (4) Students feel a duty to their donors; (5) Human anatomy is unique and complex; (6) Life is finite. The results of this study demonstrated that dissection provided an awareness of mortality and beneficial anatomical knowledge for medical students, which would enhance their care towards future patients. The ceremonies allowed students to humanize their donors by providing them an opportunity to acknowledge the donors’ sacrifice and honor the donors’ loved ones. This study supports dissection being considered a critical educational experience. KEYWORDS: Memorial; Anatomy; Dissection; Body donors; Mortality; Education; Medical school; Qualitative