A longitudinal descriptive analysis of medical student attitudes, emotional responses, and coping strategies during body donor dissection

While human body donor dissection facilitates foundational experiences that enable medical students to appreciate anatomical structures, it can also be a source of emotional stress that may hinder their learning process. The current longitudinal study aimed to describe students’ emotional responses and attitudes toward body donor dissection and to analyze how these responses changed over time. In addition, self-reported coping strategies used by students during the dissection course were explored. Students were surveyed three times throughout the anatomy course: once before comencing dissection, once immediately following the first dissection session, and once upon completing the final dissection session. Results indicated that prior to beginning dissection most students (68.7%) reported feelings of curiosity and interest; however, the number of students reporting these feelings noticeably declined by the end of the sessions to 48%. In addition, nervousness and anxiety fell between the first survey and the second with a slight rebound in the final survey. Students noted that smell became a stronger stressor over time, rising from 63.9% initially to 78% by the end of the dissection sessions. Furthermore, discomfort associated with touching certain parts of the body significantly increased over time from 48% to 76% (p = 0.039). The dissection workload was also noted as a prevalent stressor after students commenced the dissection sessions (p = 0.004). The most frequently reported coping strategies were talking with a close friend and prayer; however, reported use of these coping mechanisms also decreased over time. As there is evidence of a need for emotional support, the authors suggest the development of curricular strategies to support student emotional preparedness both inside and outside of the anatomy laboratory.