Psychological impact of cadavers and prosections on physiotherapy and occupational therapy students

Abstract

The short and long term impact of exposure to cadavers and prosections was examined with 114 occupational therapy and physiotherapy students attending the Auckland Institute of Technology. Pre-exposure measures included a shortened version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist to assess general distress, and an event-specific apprehension questionnaire. Thirty per cent of students exhibited a post-traumatic stress reaction as measured by the Impact of Event Scale. Eighteen months later, 7 per cent still exhibited symptoms of stress. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that high general distress, high event-specific apprehension and being a member of the physiotherapy student group were associated with high scores on the Impact of Event Scale. These findings indicate that the cadaver experience had a significant impact on these students, although the effect diminished over time.

Online instructional anatomy videos: Student usage, self‐efficacy, and performance in upper limb regional anatomy assessment

“…There are multiple reasons why human anatomy courses may be difficult for allied health students. They have been identified as academically challenging due to the amount and complexity of content; a source of emotional stress for students; and commonly situated in the first year of their program when the student may be already struggling to adapt to the requirements of university education (Hancock et al, ; Whittle and Bickerdike, ; Bruno et al, ; Schutte, ). The provision of supplementary instructional videos did not improve the learning or anatomy self‐efficacy of the whole cohort.…”

“…Human anatomy courses have been identified as challenging and high‐risk for elevated attrition and failure rates (Bruno et al, ; Schutte, ). Multiple contributing factors have been suggested—the high intrinsic cognitive load associated with the terminology, large volume of information, and complexity of material (Leppink and van den Heuvel, ) combined with the emotionally confronting aspect of the human cadaveric experience (Horne et al, ; Hancock et al, ). Furthermore, the positioning of anatomy in the first or second year of the program corresponds to an already difficult time whereby students may be faced with the additional challenges of developing self‐regulation skills and adapting study strategies to suit tertiary expectations (Whittle and Bickerdike, ; Bruno et al, ).…”

“…Additional benefits of dealing with human cadaveric specimens include the consideration of mortality and the development of empathy (Schofield, ). However, human cadaveric instruction can be a source of traumatic stress in students (Hancock et al, ; Horne et al, ). This may hinder student learning, reduce students' desire to prepare for, or engage with and fully benefit from, anatomy practical classes (Watkins and Moulds, ).…”

Addressing Disasters: A Novelty for Many Orthodox Clinical Practitioners and Researchers in Psychology

“…(1) The God of the New Testament would have offered acceptance and forgiveness rather than 15 Subsequently, the strategy was applied: (1) in the training of occupational therapy teachers to alleviate their anxiety in working with human tissue in muscle prosecution classes (Hancock, Williams, & Taylor, 1998); and (2) with medical students working on cadavers in their pathology classes (Hancock, Williams, Taylor, & Dawson, 2004). 16 The monotheistic explanation for disasters remained and still remains central to the existence of the Cook Islanders (South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation, 1979), although traces of earlier polytheism are still there (Luomala, 1984).…”

VIDA ODONTO: Ambiente de Realidade Virtual para Treinamento Odontológico

“…A maneira como a morte é apresentada aos alunos é um problema adicional. Estudantes expostos a cadáveres apresentam uma maior frequência de alterações psicológicas e mentais, de acordo com estudos realizados nos Estados Unidos e Austrália (Gustavson, 1988) (Hancock, Williams, & Taylor, 1998). Eles podem inclusive desenvolver atitudes inapropriadas para lidarem com o estresse causado por essas aulas (Finkelstein & Mathers, 1990).…”