Habituation for professional learning: a qualitative study of physiotherapy students' experiences working with anatomy cadavers

Cadaveric dissection shapes the ways in which healthcare students understand the human body and the attitudes, identities and behaviors they exhibit as health professionals. There is however a paucity of related research with physiotherapy (PT) students. The purpose of this interpretivist study was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physiotherapy theory and practice 2024-09, Vol.40 (9), p.2051-2064
Main Authors: Bergen, Rebecca, Lowry, Emily, Gregg, Luke, Kim, Heejin, Lee, Miranda, Wu, Alex, Gibson, Barbara E, Shaw, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Anatomy
Anatomy - education
Attitude of Health Personnel
Biopsychosocial aspects
Cadaver
Cadavers
Curricula
Curriculum
Dehumanization
Dissection
Female
Habituation
Habituation, Psychophysiologic
Health behavior
Health care
Human body
Humanization
Humans
Interruptions
Interviews as Topic
Learning
Male
Medical personnel
Oscillation
Physical therapy
Physiotherapy
Professionalization
Qualitative Research
Students
Students, Health Occupations - psychology
Young Adult
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Summary:Cadaveric dissection shapes the ways in which healthcare students understand the human body and the attitudes, identities and behaviors they exhibit as health professionals. There is however a paucity of related research with physiotherapy (PT) students. The purpose of this interpretivist study was to investigate PT students' conceptions of the human body in relation to experiences with human cadavers in anatomy education. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with PT students along with four optional written reflections completed. Data was thematically analyzed. Students engaged in a continuous process of habituation involving oscillation between "humanization" and "dehumanization" of cadavers in the anatomy lab. We describe the contextual mediators that shaped the process, the multi-sensory and emotional experience of the students, and the "interruptions" that contributed to the variability in their conceptions over time and contexts. Students ultimately habituated toward dehumanization which had multiple effects on learning and professionalization. Study findings highlight the complexity of PT students' experiences and learning within the cadaver lab outside of the formal goals of anatomy education. We discuss the implications for anatomy curricula, including the potential advantages of incorporating a biopsychosocial approach.
ISSN:0959-3985
1532-5040
1532-5040
DOI:10.1080/09593985.2023.2232865