ARTICLE # 2 | 19
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE CULTURAL BELIEFS OF MEDICAL STUDENTS ON THE CADAVERIC DISSECTION IN GROSS ANATOMY
while most students showed positive reactions; dissection mainly evoked reactions of curiosity and interest( Arráez-Aybar et al., 2004), and the more time spent in the dissection laboratory, the more the state of anxiety decreased( De Horne et al., 1990; Druce and Johnson, 1994; Arráez-Aybar et al., 2004; Plaisant et al., 2011). With time, students became fascinated by the human body and what they were learning( Lempp, 2005). Increased detachment, denial, or depersonalization with time was reported as ways of coping( Evans and Fitzgibbon, 1992; Charlton et al., 1994; Druce and Johnson, 1994; Madill and Latchford, 2005; Kotzé and Mole, 2013). These were considered to be preparation for emotional detachment from the patients later on( Plaisant et al., 2011). Some students reported turning to religion as a mean of coping with such stressful experiences( Hancock et al., 2004; Mc Garvey et al., 2001). The practice of naming cadavers, extremely prevalent among medical students, was also a beneficial coping mechanism( Williams et al., 2014). While a high percentage of students experienced anxiety before the first session, the percentage declined markedly upon completion of the first dissection( Arráez-Aybar et al., 2004; Mulu and Tegabu, 2012). Some authors considered that working with cadavers constituted a potential stressor for medical students( Dinsmore et al., 2001), while others found it a positive experience( Mc Garvey et al., 2001). A study conducted at a university in New Zealand concluded that the initial stress associated with the dissection experience dissipated relatively rapidly( Hancock et al., 2004). Another study conducted in Cardiff in the United Kingdom( UK) showed that serious distress caused by dissection was rare among the student population( Evans and Fitzgibbon, 1992).
In 2002, a study conducted in the UK, which assessed the emotional impact of cadaver dissection on medical students, concluded that students did not perceive their first exposure to cadaver dissection as an aversive experience, but rather as a positive and challenging life event( O’ Carroll et al., 2002). On the other hand, a study by Dempster et al., in 2006, in Ireland, started with the assumption that dissection of a human cadaver could constitute a potential stressor and could cause psychological trauma. The results showed that this experience was most challenging early on, with minor emotional reactions expressed by a few students. As dissection progressed during the course, the students had decreased fears and negative feelings, with only a few reported adverse consequences( Dempster et al., 2006). These last two studies used the Appraisal of Life Events Scale( ALE) reported by Ferguson et al in 1999 as an instrument for assessing positive and negative emotional reactions to life events( Ferguson et al., 1999).