Learning from human cadaveric prosections: Examining anxiety in speech therapy students.
Juan Jose Criado-ÁlvarezJaime González GonzálezCarmen Romo BarrientosIsabel Ubeda-BañonDaniel Saiz-SanchezAlicia Flores-CuadradoJuan Carlos Albertos-MarcoAlino Martinez-MarcosAlicia Mohedano-MorianoPublished in: Anatomical sciences education (2017)
Human anatomy education often utilizes the essential practices of cadaver dissection and examination of prosected specimens. However, these exposures to human cadavers and confronting death can be stressful and anxiety-inducing for students. This study aims to understand the attitudes, reactions, fears, and states of anxiety that speech therapy students experience in the dissection room. To that end, a before-and-after cross-sectional analysis was conducted with speech therapy students undertaking a dissection course for the first time. An anonymous questionnaire was administered before and after the exercise to understand students' feelings and emotions. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaires (STAI-S and STAI-T) were used to evaluate anxiety levels. The results of the study revealed that baseline anxiety levels measured using the STAI-T remained stable and unchanged during the dissection room experience (P > 0.05). Levels of emotional anxiety measured using the STAI-S decreased, from 15.3 to 11.1 points (P < 0.05). In the initial phase of the study, before any contact with the dissection room environment, 17% of students experienced anxiety, and this rate remained unchanged by end of the session (P > 0.05). A total of 63.4% of students described having thoughts about life and death. After the session, 100% of students recommended the dissection exercise, giving it a mean score of 9.1/10 points. Anatomy is an important subject for students in the health sciences, and dissection and prosection exercises frequently involve a series of uncomfortable and stressful experiences. Experiences in the dissection room may challenge some students' emotional equilibria. However, students consider the exercise to be very useful in their education and recommend it. Anat Sci Educ 10: 487-494. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.
Keyphrases
- high school
- healthcare
- endothelial cells
- sleep quality
- cross sectional
- high intensity
- mental health
- primary care
- public health
- gene expression
- resistance training
- dna methylation
- climate change
- risk assessment
- quality improvement
- mesenchymal stem cells
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- body composition