CADAVER CEREMONIES AS A FOUNDATION STEP FOR BIOETHCS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Dinesh kumar. V, Department of Anatomy, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Pondicherry, India. E-Mail: dinesh.88560@gmail.com Introduction: A cadaver is the first “body” upon which students lay their hands. The student-cadaver relationship stabilised on humanities can serve as a simulation for future doctor-patient relationship. This calls for the “humanities” in medicine to be incorporated into the anatomy curriculum Methodology: It included 150 students of the first year of medical college. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of students’ reflections upon first exposure to cadaver and during the gratitude ceremony was done. Results: The responses were classified under four themes (cognitive, moral, behavioural and affective) according to the Triune brain model. Responses during gratitude ceremony are generated as such. Conclusion: Our initiative provides adequate scope for reflective writing, fulfils most criteria for a hidden curriculum and acts as foundation step for bioethics. Rather than reducing into a narrower set of generalizable constructs as in qualitative studies, students’ holistic experiences when presented as such would convey the intended plurality.