Abstract
In a pre-post-examination 215, resp. 200 medical students participated in a study about their interests, ideas, expectations and personality traits as well as about actual experiences and coping strategies with regard to the dissection course. 120 students completed both questionnaires (pre and post test). This sample was used for further analyses. – The data show particular expectations concerning “support by the assistant” and provision of knowledge about the corpse. Many students regard the work in the dissection hall as “repulsive” and “unpleasant”. During the course, the support given by the assistant plays a crucial role for the students’ adjustment. Only few students report a feeling of having to perform “repulsive work”. Those students, however, who start the course with a “bad” feeling are more likely to continue that feeling. The students do not wish to start the first dissection with handling the head or the genitals, and they are reluctant to proceed to special parts of the body, especially to the arms and the head. – The medical students hardly differ from other students with regard to personality traits and coping strategies. There is a relationship between the expectation of an aversive experience and stress coping mechanisms. – The results of this study suggest the introduction of a preparation course for the dissecting work. In this course, speaking about technical, organizational and emotional questions could have a positive effect on the helplessness at the beginning. Expectations and anxieties could be clarified. This preparation course could be the first step of a medical education with a focus on issues of death and dying.
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