The use of an educational video on forensic autopsy in curricular teaching for medical students—is it worth the effort?: A field report from lecturers and a survey among students

• Published in: International journal of legal medicine 2024-03, Vol.138 (2), p.651-658
• Main Authors: Schwarz, Clara-Sophie, Kramer, Stefan, Germerott, Tanja, Walz, Cleo, Elsner, Katrin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Forensic Medicine; Medical Law; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original; Original Article
• ISSN: 0937-9827; 1437-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s00414-023-03113-y

Purpose The purpose of this work is to share our experience with an educational video on forensic autopsy. Using questionnaires, we attempted to answer the following questions: Does watching the video trigger emotions in students? Does the autopsy meet the expectations that they had before? Does the video help to prepare them for their subsequent autopsy participation? Methods A total of 365 medical students who attended their classes during the COVID-19 pandemic measures were provided with the video on an online platform. Links leading to questionnaires were positioned before and after the video. One hundred seventy-six students returned to face-to-face teaching during their course in forensic medicine. Those among them who chose to participate in an autopsy at our institute were given the link to a third questionnaire after their autopsy participation. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS 27.0 and Microsoft Excel. Results One hundred seventy-two students completed a questionnaire before watching the educational video, 85 also completed one afterwards, and 28 completed the third questionnaire. The most intense feelings while watching the video were “curiosity” and “surprise”. Out of twelve students (14.1%) who had imagined the autopsy differently in advance, five perceived the autopsy shown in the video as rougher or more brutal than expected. All autopsy participants who had previously viewed the video felt adequately prepared. Conclusion Teaching should include an introduction to the handling of the corpse and the general procedures in the dissecting room. Although a video cannot substitute for personal interaction, it is useful to prepare students for their autopsy participation.