Not Just a Specimen: A Qualitative Study of Emotion,Morality, and Professionalism in One Medical School Gross Anatomy Laboratory

Medical schools are increasingly integrating professionalism training into their gross anatomy courses, teaching ethical behavior and humanistic attitudes through the dissection experience. However, many schools continue to take a traditional, technical approach to anatomical education while teaching professionalism in separate courses. This interview-based study explored how students viewed the body donor and the professional lessons they learned through dissection at one such medical school. All students oscillated involuntarily between seeing the cadaver as a specimen for learning and seeing the cadaver as a person, with some students intentionally cultivating one of these ways of seeing over the other. These views shaped students’ emotional and moral responses to the experiences of dissection. The “specimen” view facilitated a technical, detached approach to dissection, while the “person” view made students engage emotionally. Further, students who intentionally cultivated a “specimen” view generally felt less moral distress about dissection than students who intentionally cultivated a “person” view. The concept of respect gave students permission to perform dissections, but “person-minded” students developed more complex rules around what constituted respectful behavior. Both groups of students connected the gross anatomy experience to their professional development, but in different ways. “Specimen-minded” students intentionally objectified the body to learn the emotional control physicians need, while “person-minded” students humanized the body donor to promote the emotional engagement required of physicians. These findings support efforts to integrate professionalism teaching into gross anatomy courses, particularly content, addressing the balance between professional detachment and concern.