The dissecting room: Reactions of first year medical students

No published studies on the reactions of British medical students to human dissection have been found. A class of 167 first year British preclinical students completed a questionnaire covering reactions to the dissecting room (DR) and other causes of stress for medical students, 6 Weeks after starting dissection. Five percent of students were very upset by the DR during the first few sessions while 36% were slightly upset, and 58% were unaffected. Six weeks later none were very upset and 78% were not at all upset by the DR. Those upset by the DR had higher stress levels by a standard measure than those not disturbed. Four percent of students had been so disturbed that their concentration was disrupted during the first DR session. The DR was a relatively unimportant cause of stress to students compared with work‐related stressors, such as too much work and exam anxiety. The majority of students felt themselves mentally prepared for the DR. About half had seen a dead body before and these students were signigicantly more likely to feel mentally prepared. Some students are, understandably, upset by their first experiences of the DR but most adapt fairly quickly. It appears that a small number continue to be seriously disturbed. The possiblity of using students'reactions to the DR as an educational exercise for their medical career could be explored further. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.