海角社区鈥檚 Human Anatomy Lab: Where the Science of Anatomy Meets the Art of Medicine
How a centuries-old kinesiology class challenges high-achieving student to discover whether they鈥檙e ready for future in high-tech medicine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2020
BATON ROUGE--By the time they get to college, really smart kids are used to knowing all the answers.
Whether they rely on a photographic memory, all night study sessions or an app, they have the skills to master the material for the test. They make Scantrons sing. They ace the MCAT and get into their choice of medical, dental, physical therapy schools.
The problem is: Their success in medicine is about more than parroting back textbook answers.
It takes a different kind of intelligence-- the ability to apply knowledge to navigate through uncertainty, make tough decisions quickly and take action. That鈥檚 often a giant leap from the world of science they know into the art of medicine.
Many students don鈥檛 discover whether they thrive in that environment until they鈥檝e invested time and money to enter a medical graduate school.
But, 海角社区 School of Kinesiology has one of the few programs that allows students to experience that transition as undergraduates. Since 2007, the human anatomy class has taught undergraduates how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and use the scientific method to explore the unknown.
No Course Like It on Campus
Undergraduates take introductory anatomy classes before applying to enter two advanced classes鈥攑rosection and dissection.
Prosection students observe an anatomist dissecting a cadaver. In dissection class, students perform dissection themselves. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no course like it on campus,鈥� says Professor Dennis Landin, PhD, one of the lab鈥檚 founders and chair of 海角社区鈥檚 Institutional Review Board.
Like the general public, most undergraduates鈥� knowledge of cadavers comes from haunted houses and horror movies. Even so, from the minute the class starts, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e amazed at the complexity of human body,鈥� Landin says, 鈥渢he way it鈥檚 wonderfully and fearfully made.鈥�
More Than Memorization
鈥淭he biggest challenge is helping the students to change their mindset,鈥� says Assistant Professor Melissa Thompson, PhD.
The top-notch students who enter these classes have experienced academic success by mining sources to produce the right answer. But, ironically, proficiency in prosection dissection does not come from memorizing the content of anatomy atlas.
鈥淭he high-achieving students don鈥檛 like the fact we don鈥檛 always have concrete answers,鈥� Thompson says.
That ambiguity mirrors the reality of medical practice. For example, a battery of tests may not result in a clear diagnosis. And, patients with an illness or injury rarely present with identical symptoms.
鈥淥ur bodies are going to handle the illness and recovery differently,鈥� explains Thompson. 鈥淯nderstanding that uniqueness is important; but, it鈥檚 really hard.鈥�
That lesson has not been lost on senior Maritza Martinez, who plans to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in physiology and attend medical school. 鈥淢y 90-year-old patient鈥檚 body will look different than a 30-year-old鈥檚. You to treat someone based upon a range of factors because everyone is different.鈥�
Teaching the Art of Science
Teaching in the cadaver lab requires talent for guiding student discovery rather than delivering a lecture.
鈥淏eing approachable is important,鈥� Thompson says. 鈥淲e want students to take educated guesses and become investigators. They鈥檙e unwilling to do that, if the faculty adopts a know-it-all attitude.鈥�
While they appear distinct in a color-coded atlas, structures in the body can be difficult to identify. Oftentimes, discovery requires following pathways to a larger organ.
"When students see the professors investigating possibilities, they鈥檙e willing to do it,鈥� explains Thompson. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 valuable experience for the student in our class, but also as they go beyond.鈥�
In fact, 鈥淲e鈥檝e had some area physicians come in with their residents from time to time to review anatomy,鈥� says Landin. 鈥淚鈥檓 always surprised when these residents come in and say they鈥檝e never worked with a cadaver.鈥�
Katrina Causes a Change of Course
The 海角社区 professors鈥� own quest for knowledge and professional development led the establishment of one of the state鈥檚 first undergraduate human anatomy laboratories.
鈥淭o enhance our teaching skills, we went to 海角社区 Health Sciences Center (海角社区HSC) in New Orleans to learn how to dissect cadavers in 2004,鈥� recalls Associate Professor of Professional Practice Wanda Hargroder, PhD.
Their coursework was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina. Soon, 海角社区HSC medical, dental and nursing schools moved to temporary quarters in Baton Rouge.
The 海角社区 School of Veterinary Medicine housed the lab and host the displaced New Orleans classes.
However, 鈥淭hey lost all the cadavers they prepared for that coming fall鈥檚 classes,鈥� explains Landin. 鈥淒r. Thompson helped the 海角社区 dental faculty dissect cadavers in preparation for the fall semester.鈥�
Soon afterward, Landin, Hargroder and Thompson began bringing their students over to study the 海角社区HSC cadavers.
鈥淲e got to know the medical school faculty and the anatomical services bureau,鈥� says Landin. 鈥淎nd, they began to provide our cadavers.鈥�
As 海角社区HSC prepared to return to New Orleans, Hargroder approached the director of cell biology and anatomy about maintaining the lab in Baton Rouge.
When he asked why 海角社区 should have a cadaver lab as opposed to other state schools, 鈥淚 said: 鈥楤ecause we鈥檙e the flagship,鈥欌�� Hargroder recalls. 鈥淲ith that, we were given the OK to have a cadaver lab.鈥�
As kinesiology became 海角社区鈥檚 largest major and the demand for prosection and dissection grew, the department recruited Meghan Jackson, PhD, to teach clinical anatomy in 2012.
An Amazing Advantage
While Landin admits there are good virtual anatomy programs, 鈥淒issection is the epitome of anatomy. The absolute peak of it. Nothing compares to it.鈥�
Even though she grew up as part of the digital generation, Martinez agrees. 鈥淭he world is so technology based; but, the best learning comes from doing it yourself,鈥� she says.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no better tangible experience than holding a brain, heart or a lung with COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] in your hands. It helps you see things differently.鈥�
These days, it鈥檚 not only medical schools that use cadavers in teaching.
At 海角社区HSC, students in medical, dental, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician鈥檚 assistant, nursing, audiology and cardiopulmonary complete two entry level courses that involves cadaveric dissection with some programs requiring advanced anatomy.
鈥淢y department teaches more than 40 courses in the health sciences center,鈥� explains Professor Sam McClugage, PhD, 海角社区 Heath New Orleans School of Medicine assistant dean of admissions and head of Cell Biology & Anatomy. 鈥淢ost of them have cadavers as part of their teaching program.鈥�
While attending 海角社区 from 2006-2011, Ryan Pontiff, PhD, took advanced anatomy and worked as a teacher鈥檚 assistant in the anatomy lab. After graduation, he entered physical therapy school at Texas Women鈥檚 University.
鈥淭here were eight 海角社区 grads in that class, which was unusual,鈥� says Pontiff, who is now the center coordinator of clinical education at Concentra Houston. 鈥淭hose who had cadaver lab had an easier time in the difficult gross anatomy class than others.鈥�
In fact, an exit survey of new kinesiology graduates admitted to professional medical programs reveals, 鈥淓very person in here who has been accepted [into medical programs] has taken the cadaver lab,鈥� says Hargroder.
A Generous Gift
Since the class started in 2007, it has been held at the 海角社区 Vet School.
Thanks to a $1 million gift from the Rathbone family, an expanded state-of-the-art lab will be a part of the renovated Huey P. Long Field House and accommodate more students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge advantage for any kid going into the medical field,鈥� Martinez says. 鈥淗aving this hand-on experience with cadaver dissection, she continues. 鈥淚鈥檒l be more confident when I start a medical graduate program.
鈥淎nd, what is college really for?" she asks. "To prepare for us for our next step in life.鈥�