‘The Good Place’, Body Donation, and Frida Kahlo: A Perfect Match? A qualitative evaluation of a novel workshop series

Abstract

There has been a recent shift in focus on emphasizing the overlap of professionalism and ethics (P&E) with anatomy education. There is the sense that topics related to anatomy, such as the relationship between the dead and living, lend well to discussions of philosophy, ethics, professional development, and humanities‐related focus. However, with a general decrease in contact hours for anatomy‐related subjects, a renewed focus on P&E requires innovative teaching methods and interdisciplinary collaboration.With this in mind, a 9‐week workshop series entitled ‘Body and Self’ was designed for first year, undergraduate medical students in a P&E module (course). Designed by an interdisciplinary team, and facilitated by an anatomist, in these workshops, students participated in activities related to topics such as: philosophy, culture, body donation, organ donation, art‐based approaches in medicine, presentation of medicine in lay culture, and medical ethics. The present work evaluates initial student reactions to this novel workshop series, via weekly qualitative survey evaluation. Students also completed an end‐of‐term evaluation of the workshops.Content analysis was completed to code responses and analyze overall student views of these workshops, and how the Body and Self stream was constructively aligned.Preliminary analysis of evaluations indicate that students received most sessions positively, with greater appreciation for topics that students viewed as directly anatomy‐ and medical‐related. The workshops encouraged reflection and growth of professional skills, such as interpersonal skills, personal reflective practice, patient and peer communication. Many students reflected on the “deep thinking” workshop content encouraged, and many viewed sessions as “insightful.” They also responded positively to hearing varied peer perspectives, and considering cultural views on topics such as death, dying, and body donation, as well as the medical ethics surrounding such topics. The majority of negative comments related to the actual structure of the workshop, such as the request for more time. Several students also frequently questioned the link between the workshop content and clinical experiences, and many negative comments correlated with the concept of ‘fixed mindsets.’Initial evaluation of the Body and Self workshops suggest that students react quite positively to ethical discussions surrounding the nature of the body, particularly when these are linked to practical anatomical and clinical presentation. Follow up analysis are planned with consideration of the Kirkpatrick Model of evaluating learning experiences, in order to gauge student learning and possible changes in behavior. However, such a model of workshop, supported by evaluation and feedback, has early indications of being a powerful tool for further embedding anatomical sciences into P&E practice.