During the past decades, the actual numbers of human autopsies performed in hospitals has steadily decreased. Correspondingly, the opportunities for pathology residents to learn autopsy dissection skills has also decreased. To compensate for this loss, our institution initiated a training program using internal organ blocks from sheep and/or pigs, obtained from a local meat packer. For the study, 28 first-year pathology residents performed 3 complete organ block dissections under direct instructional supervision during the 2-week orientation period before initiation of service work. A fourth "competency" dissection was completed without supervision at a time chosen by each resident during the first 2 years of residency. An objective measure scale (0-4) was used to determine the completeness in each area of the dissection. The performance of these "trained" residents was compared with that of 17 third-and fourth-year "untrained" residents who had completed at least 25 autopsies without having received the formal large mammal organ block dissection training. All residents were also surveyed using a feedback form constructed for this specific purpose. The trained residents achieved median and mean scores of 86% and 88% compared with 50% and 54%, respectively, for index senior untrained residents. The survey revealed that 86% of trained residents felt at least "somewhat comfortable" performing autopsies and that 59% felt the dissection training had contributed a "great deal" to their dissection skills. Autopsy training using large mammal organ blocks helps incoming residents increase their dissection skills, feel more confident, and perform better when placed on service for human autopsies. This program can be implemented at any locale with a little collaboration from local meat packers/butcher shops and can serve as a model for pathology residency programs, leading to technically superior and more complete autopsy examinations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.