Anatomy/cadaver lab on interviews

[oioeoelgd154]

I've had a few interviews where we've gone into the anatomy/cadaver lab. It seems like tourism of the donors' bodies and potential to make people feel uncomfortable given the short time frame and lack of introduction to the space. Thoughts on whether this should be a part of the tour?

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[Engrailed]

I've had a few interviews where we've gone into the anatomy/cadaver lab. It seems like tourism of the donors' bodies and potential to make people feel uncomfortable given the short time frame and lack of introduction to the space. Thoughts on whether this should be a part of the tour?

Ive no say on whether they should be or not but some schools or tour guides seem to emphasize their lab in particular. The air filtration, non
-dungeon level, how many ppl to a table etc... not sure why but the anatomy lab seems to be portrayed as some sort or selling point? Tho Im not sure why that would make any real difference in an applicant’s decision.. lol

actually, at one of the schools they shared a “fun” fact about the lab and to me that was the most memorable of the school’s tour lol

 

[deleted1001426]

It definitely should be a part of tours. The anatomy lab is an integral part of your medical education and its reasonable for students to want to see what amenities are provided in the lab. Besides, during every interview ive been on the guides explicitly state that if you dont want to go in then you can wait outside with one of the other student ambassadors so i really dont see why this would be a problem.

 

[deleted859689]

All interviews I’ve been through the bodies have been covered unless people were actually working with the bodies. I don’t feel uncomfortable around dead bodies at all... but can see why being in the lab during the interview is different

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

As an M1, you’re going to spend a great many hours in the anatomy lab, so I find it helpful to see what it’s like (like @Engrailed said, how bright, ventilated, miserable, crowded, etc. it is). Probably won’t be your make or break factor in choosing a school, but definitely something to keep in mind.

Has anyone ever shown you an actual donors body? At all of my interviews, they were covered. I think the students just wanted to give you an idea of what the space looks like because it’s a pretty big part of your curriculum

This actually has happened at two of my interviews though, which I thought was a little uncomfortable.

 

[deleted804295]

We had to see bodies at one of my interviews because the M1s were working on them.

I was uncomfortable but the M1s seemed fine and have only been in med school for a couple of months so I think it was nice to show us that we will eventually get over our fright too.

 

[deleted1001426]

Yup, I think it’s just one of those things that most schools show you on tours, like the SIM center, where it’s largely the same across all schools and probably unnecessary, but it’s mainly just an opportunity to flex how nice our facilities are.

And as for showing uncovered bodies... hmm. I think that seems pretty insensitive to both the interviewees and the donors. If you ever get the chance to provide interview feedback you should mention that because that seems somewhat inappropriate.

I see what youre saying but in my experience the only time there are uncovered bodies are when there are students actively working on one of the cadavers/if its during an anatomy class and afterwards they are covered or zipped in a bodybag, so theres not much schools can do about this besides barring their students from accessing the cadaver lab during interview season (which would be a bit ridiculous if you ask me)

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

Yup, I think it’s just one of those things that most schools show you on tours, like the SIM center, where it’s largely the same across all schools and probably unnecessary, but it’s mainly just an opportunity to flex how nice our facilities are.

And as for showing uncovered bodies... hmm. I think that seems pretty insensitive to both the interviewees and the donors. If you ever get the chance to provide interview feedback you should mention that because that seems somewhat inappropriate.

Yeah in both situations it definitely seemed like an idea that the student giving the tour had, rather than a planned portion of the tour, but definitely strange. In one of them, the student asked us, “do you guys want to see one of them?” And we were all just like “uh.....ok?” because it felt strange to say no. I’ve had cadaver classes before so I wasn’t jarred, but it felt out of place on the tours.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I saw portions of uncovered cadavers at two of my interviews. Interviewees were offered the opportunity to stand outside the lab if they were sensitive to the smells and were warned ahead of time that we might see cadavers.

Personally, it didn’t feel inappropriate at all; in fact, I thought it was really cool to see where the students were at in their dissection. It seemed like a routine part of the tour. I’m surprised to hear that there may be ethical issues with non-university personnel seeing the cadavers and that this is inappropriate to the point where it should be reported as interview feedback.

 

[Moko]

Bodies should be covered unless they are actively being worked on by students (both out of respect and to preserve the cadaver). The optics of having 'random' people routinely parade past uncovered cadavers isn't pretty from a PR perspective, so some schools do not lead interviewees through the cadaver room if the cadavers are uncovered.

Many things that are deemed important by applicants (student-to-cadaver ratio, "curricular innovations", and state of the educational facilities, etc) are discussed and shown during the interview day to attract the best possible class. The things that are actually important to know though are usually not discussed in much detail: distribution of experiences and autonomy during clinical rotations, prevalence of learner mistreatment, 'safety net' mechanisms in place for struggling students, overall preparedness for residency, etc.

To add: make an effort to talk to 3rd and 4th years about their experiences before making a final decision on where to matriculate. The experience of 1st and 2nd years, while well-meaning, usually is not as helpful.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

And as for showing uncovered bodies... hmm. I think that seems pretty insensitive to both the interviewees and the donors. If you ever get the chance to provide interview feedback you should mention that because that seems somewhat inappropriate.

Just depends on how it’s done. The chief of our lab shows applicants one of the prosecution cadavers if the anatomy course is going on during the interviews (which it is for almost all of them). It’s very respectful and he’s big on them being our first patients.

Feeling uncomfortable is not the same as it being inappropriate. Most people are uncomfortable the first time they are around a cadaver.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Bodies should be covered unless they are actively being worked on by students (both out of respect and to preserve the cadaver). The optics of having 'random' people routinely parade past uncovered cadavers isn't pretty from a PR perspective, so some schools do not lead interviewees through the cadaver room if the cadavers are uncovered.

Many things that are deemed important by applicants (student-to-cadaver ratio, "curricular innovations", and state of the educational facilities, etc) are discussed and shown during the interview day to attract the best possible class. The things that are actually important to know though are usually not discussed in much detail: distribution of experiences and autonomy during clinical rotations, prevalence of learner mistreatment, 'safety net' mechanisms in place for struggling students, overall preparedness for residency, etc.

To add: make an effort to talk to 3rd and 4th years about their experiences before making a final decision on where to matriculate. The experience of 1st and 2nd years, while well-meaning, usually is not as helpful.

Totally agree, at like 3/7 of my interviews the students we talked with at lunch were first years who hadn't even had exams yet...Kind of a waste of time.

 

[strappysandals]

The majority of the schools I interviewed at paraded us through the anatomy lab. Yes, all the bodies were covered, but I found it disrespectful regardless. I really appreciated the schools that said we were not allowed to go in, called them donors instead of cadavers, and seemed to take body donation and anatomy lab seriously.

edit: even more bonus points if a school has a ceremony at the end of anatomy lab to remember the people that gave their bodies and to thank the families

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The majority of the schools I interviewed at paraded us through the anatomy lab. Yes, all the bodies were covered, but I found it disrespectful regardless. I really appreciated the schools that said we were not allowed to go in, called them donors instead of cadavers, and seemed to take body donation and anatomy lab seriously.

edit: even more bonus points if a school has a ceremony at the end of anatomy lab to remember the people that gave their bodies and to thank the families

We do something at the end. We also have a chaplain available on the first day of lab for students who feel like they need to talk to someone.

What makes it disrespectful to show applicants what it is like where they will be spending a significant chunk of time? We have dissection three times a week at my school. You’re there a lot.

 

[oioeoelgd154]

It seems like having a few photos available of the anatomy lab (as well as other spaces the tour might not get to because of time like clinical sites, gym facilities, etc.) would suffice for students to see what it will look like. I've had one tour where we were "shown off" one of the bodies. It was not done in a respectful way.

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

It seems like having a few photos available of the anatomy lab (as well as other spaces the tour might not get to because of time like clinical sites, gym facilities, etc.) would suffice for students to see what it will look like. I've had one tour where we were "shown off" one of the bodies. It was not done in a respectful way.

I agree that displaying the actual donor cadavers for the purpose of the tour is inappropriate and shouldn’t be done. But I think that as long as you’re passing through the building and can see the room, this is a part of a school I really appreciate seeing. In one of my schools I interviewed at, anatomy is pretty much all they do for the first 3 months so they said they spend their entire life there. In that situation, I definitely appreciated seeing the facilities. I think it’s different to show the lab to a group of potential matriculates, as opposed to a random group of people touring the school. I think future students, who will be eventually the ones dissecting and working with the donor bodies, understand that it’s a reasonable part of the tour and not something the school is showing off for shock factor.

edit: to clarify, I think any tour of the anatomy lab should be done with the utmost respect to donors and I also very much appreciate when the school talk about how they honor the donor bodies at the end of the class

 

[Dave1980]

Anatomy lab should definitely should be part of the tour. It's one of the most important facilities in the med school. If it isn't in use the bodies will be covered. If it is in use they may be uncovered. It's not disrespectful to the cadavers...hell they are literally having their genitals split open and probed.

My school had a brand new awesome cadaver lab with computers hanging from the ceilings at each station. It was definitely a selling point.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Anatomy lab should definitely should be part of the tour. It's one of the most important facilities in the med school. If it isn't in use the bodies will be covered. If it is in use they may be uncovered. It's not disrespectful to the cadavers...hell they are literally having their genitals split open and probed.

My school had a brand new awesome cadaver lab with computers hanging from the ceilings at each station. It was definitely a selling point.

For real. With the stuff we have to do to them in lab, having applicants see them is the least disrespectful thing they go through.