Dissection lab: What to Expect When You're Not Expecting It

Let’s talk cadavers. I know, it’s not the sexiest topic, but it has become incredibly important in my education. The U of U is one of the few OT programs that has a dissection lab where the student performs the dissection. While it’s not the most glamorous experience, getting an up close look with the actual anatomy solidifies a lot of the material you learn in class. Being in lab has been an incredibly profound experience. It’s humbling to know that your cadaver was a person who selflessly donated their body for our education. This person has invested in me in the most personal way. This is the point where I have to say “thank you” to my person. Thank you to their family to honor their wishes. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, and I promise to honor their decision in my future practice. 

Now, here are some things to know when working with cadavers.

1. It’s not for the faint of heart. The human body, as incredible as it is, can be pretty gross. It’s messy, and smelly, and can be very frustrating. There are some things you wouldn’t have guessed you would do in your life; like dislocating a femur to identify ligamentous attachments, inflating lungs to see what inspiration looks like, and irrigating the heart. There have been many expressions of excitement, and horror. It’s beautiful, and scary, and you’ll never be the same after.

2. Accept the unknown. Everybody is different, and every body is different. During dissection, nothing is ever exactly by the book. It takes an interesting combination of creative play and critical thinking to do a good dissection. I have learned this semester that my hand coordination is awkward (thanks for the insight, Beth). Fortunately, I am okay with not being an expert dissector. I take comfort that skills in cadaver dissection is not a day-to-day skill that I will rely on as an OT. Also, I lucked out and am in a group of students who do killer dissections. I get to learn from their craft, they are the people who make me successful.

3. A little bit of hysteria is okay. I’m not going to fully disclose what we do in dissection. This is for the people who don’t care to know the details. And for any future OT students, I don’t want to ruin the fun of you discovering this for yourself. I think dissection lab has a way of making a class uniformly telepathic. There were some days in lab when after reading the lab manual we all shared the same thought, “they want us to do what??”. You gain the skill of reading your lab partners' minds. I think lab is the ultimate team builder. It breaks down every social barrier that exists. You learn to work together to get the task done, and you figure out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It feels like a micro-family. You’ll laugh together, you’ll secretly all dread dissection some days, and you will find enchantment while you’re in the thick of it.

We finished our last dissection lab yesterday. I have the final to prep for, but one chapter in my graduate school experience has closed. One thing has been crossed off the very, very, very long list. It’s exciting and a little nostalgic. I have a lot of ahead of me, but I have a feeling that it’s going to go by too quickly.   

Now, I need to go study. Peace.