Donor-Based Dissection, Ethical Reflection, and Professionalism in First-Year Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anatomy
• Bioethics

Background:

• Donor-based dissection is a cornerstone of anatomy education.
• It is recognized for its potential in fostering ethical reflection, bioethics learning, and professionalism.
• Student perceptions of these dimensions are crucial for evaluating dissection's educational value.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate first-year medical students' perceptions of dissection's role in ethical reflection, bioethics, and professionalism.
• To explore factors influencing students' evaluation of dissection's educational worth.
• To identify associations between student engagement and perceived value.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional observational study design was employed.
• A structured questionnaire was administered to 86 first-year medical students during a Human Anatomy course.
• Spearman's rank correlation coefficient with false discovery rate correction was used for analysis.

Main Results:

• Enthusiasm for dissection correlated positively with perceived usefulness for bioethics learning and professionalism.
• Perceived professionalism value was linked to surgical career intentions and perceived career relevance.
• A moderate inverse association was found between perceived ethical reflection usefulness and the frequency of ethical reflection.

Conclusions:

• Student perceptions of dissection's educational and professional value are influenced by emotional engagement and career relevance.
• These perceptions form domain-specific patterns rather than a uniform response.
• Anatomy curricula should integrate strategies to boost student engagement and explicitly connect dissection to professional development.