Event Title
Human Anatomy Laboratory: A Community Learning Environment
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Start Date
8-5-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
8-5-2019 4:00 PM
Description
Human anatomy laboratories utilize human cadavers for hands-on training, education, and development of medical techniques. Cadaver laboratories provide a real life experience where medical professionals and students, alike, can advance their understanding of human anatomy and physiology in addition to enhancing their practical skills, by exploring and working on human specimens. Regulation of whole body donation for medical education varies from state to state. In Pennsylvania, the Humanity Gifts Registry (HGR) was established by the Anatomical Gift Act of 1883 to manage the receipt and distribution of bodies to the medical and dental schools in the state. The member schools can decide which programs have access to cadavers to teach anatomy. At Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), cadavers are used to train students in the medical school, graduate school, physician assistant studies program and physical therapy. Part of the institution’s mission is “…to the well-being of the community through leadership and service. PCOM has been using the anatomy lab to provide educational workshops to high school and undergraduate college students. These opportunities have the following goals to meet the mission of the HGR as well as PCOM. (1) Enhance education of basic human anatomy. (2) Create an understanding of the value of using cadavers to learn anatomy. (3) Create an understanding of what is required to learn anatomy as a future healthcare worker. (4) Inspire students to pursue further education in the sciences. Each workshop lasted an average of an hour and a half and included access to laboratory space, prosected cadavers, anatomy models, and plastinated specimens. Faculty and first or second year medical students volunteered their time to educate those attending. On average there was 1 educator for every 10 students. From 2016 to 2018, an average of 165 high school students from 9 high schools attended workshops. In addition there was an average of 78 students from 2-3 undergraduate institutions that participated in workshops. Many of the high school programs were students taking advanced biology courses that had a focus on human anatomy. Some of the students were from schools where a majority of the enrollment was from underrepresented minorities and were provided an understanding of what is involved in pursuing a career in the health sciences. The undergraduate college students who attended were all interested in pursuing careers in the health sciences. These workshops and outreach programs were designed to give visiting students and medical professionals a better understanding of human anatomy, while giving access to a medical school environment. The ability to open our lab to visiting programs has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for PCOM.
Embargo Period
5-24-2019
Human Anatomy Laboratory: A Community Learning Environment
Philadelphia, PA
Human anatomy laboratories utilize human cadavers for hands-on training, education, and development of medical techniques. Cadaver laboratories provide a real life experience where medical professionals and students, alike, can advance their understanding of human anatomy and physiology in addition to enhancing their practical skills, by exploring and working on human specimens. Regulation of whole body donation for medical education varies from state to state. In Pennsylvania, the Humanity Gifts Registry (HGR) was established by the Anatomical Gift Act of 1883 to manage the receipt and distribution of bodies to the medical and dental schools in the state. The member schools can decide which programs have access to cadavers to teach anatomy. At Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), cadavers are used to train students in the medical school, graduate school, physician assistant studies program and physical therapy. Part of the institution’s mission is “…to the well-being of the community through leadership and service. PCOM has been using the anatomy lab to provide educational workshops to high school and undergraduate college students. These opportunities have the following goals to meet the mission of the HGR as well as PCOM. (1) Enhance education of basic human anatomy. (2) Create an understanding of the value of using cadavers to learn anatomy. (3) Create an understanding of what is required to learn anatomy as a future healthcare worker. (4) Inspire students to pursue further education in the sciences. Each workshop lasted an average of an hour and a half and included access to laboratory space, prosected cadavers, anatomy models, and plastinated specimens. Faculty and first or second year medical students volunteered their time to educate those attending. On average there was 1 educator for every 10 students. From 2016 to 2018, an average of 165 high school students from 9 high schools attended workshops. In addition there was an average of 78 students from 2-3 undergraduate institutions that participated in workshops. Many of the high school programs were students taking advanced biology courses that had a focus on human anatomy. Some of the students were from schools where a majority of the enrollment was from underrepresented minorities and were provided an understanding of what is involved in pursuing a career in the health sciences. The undergraduate college students who attended were all interested in pursuing careers in the health sciences. These workshops and outreach programs were designed to give visiting students and medical professionals a better understanding of human anatomy, while giving access to a medical school environment. The ability to open our lab to visiting programs has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for PCOM.
Comments
Presented at Experimental Biology 2019.