Objective: Human dissection engages students in not only an advanced exploration of anatomy, but also the opportunity to develop multifaceted professional skills imperative in medical practice. Whilst current research focuses on student perceptions of dissection and attainment of learning outcomes during their course of study, little is known of the long-term impact of human dissection on employability skills particularly in a broader non-medical cohort. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate Biomedical Science alumni’s anatomical knowledge and perceptions of employability skills gained from human dissection.
Methods: An online survey was deployed to Bachelor of Biomedical Science student alumni from the Queensland University of Technology (n=119), who completed a single semester Anatomical Dissection unit in their final semester of study (2017 – 2022). Questions focused on perceptions of the impact of dissection on graduate capability development and relevance to current employment, and anatomical knowledge.
Results: Alumni strongly agreed that dissection supported their confidence in applying several graduate capabilities (26% response rate; n=31), with highest agreement in professionalism (100%), strategy (100%), empathising (100%), and flexibility and responsiveness (96.7%). These were strongly aligned with the graduate capabilities identified of highest importance in the workplace. Interestingly, the perceived importance of these graduate capabilities was higher in alumni that completed dissection the longest time ago. No significant difference in anatomical knowledge was observed between graduate years, suggesting retention of knowledge over time.
Conclusion: These results highlight that human dissection has sustained positive impact on the development and application of critical employability skills of Biomedical Science graduates.
Keywords: alumni; dissection; graduate capabilities; professionalism; resilience
Ethical statement: This research was approved by the QUT University Human Research Ethics Committee (QUT Ethics approval number LR 2022 – 5965-10033). Completion and submission of the online survey was accepted as indication of consent to participate in the research project.
Funding statement: No funding was received to undertake this research.