Knowledge, attitude, and perception of 'Cadaver as our First Teacher' among the Phase 1 students in their...

Throughout the world, there has been much emphasis on humanizing the cadaver with due respect as they are considered the first teachers for a medical student and, of late, have gained momentum. In this context, this research aimed to study the knowledge, attitude and perception of the cadaver among the Phase 1 medical students of our institution.

This was a cross-sectional institution-based study of 416 medical students of Phase 1, which included 21 validated questions about the 'attitude, ethics and communication' module 1.5 of the competency-based medical education curriculum.

In this study, 235 (56.5%) of our students strongly agreed that the dissection hall is the only place where the dead teach the living. A total of four hundred and five students (97.4%) approved of "cadaver as their first teacher' and 411 (98.8%) of them agreed that the cadaveric oath would inculcate responsibility, respect, and empathy in young medical undergraduates. In this study, 177 (70.8%) students expressed desire to perform cadaveric dissection on a routine basis, and the remaining 64 (25.6%) opined to perform it occasionally. Four hundred and ten (98.6%) students were aware of photographic prohibition without the permission of authoritative personnel inside the dissection hall or of specimens displayed there, and 405 (97.4%) also expressed that it is unethical to share those pictures on social media. Four hundred and thirteen (99.3%) of students were aware of the disposal protocol of the cadaveric tissues.

The study observed that the Phase 1 medical students were aware of the guidelines of attitude, ethics, communication, and hygiene protocols to be followed while dissection. They acknowledged that cadavers were their first teacher, who would assist them in both teaching and research. It is believed that this study is enlightening to the students and professors at the medical schools concerning the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal-4 in offering quality education.