Canadian medical schools cutting basic anatomy training, but not University of Guelph

CTV’s Spencer Turcotte finds out how the University of Guelph is leading the way when it comes to hands-on medical training.

Canadian medical schools have cut back on basic anatomy training.

Some programs have removed in-lab dissection entirely and experts worry it could have serious effects across the health care field.

“Anatomy is being reduced, specifically in-lab anatomy time,” said Dr. Danielle Bentley, associate professor of human health sciences at the University of Guelph’s College of Biological Science.

Specifically dissections of human donors are being cut back significantly.

“It’s being replaced with models or with 3D programs,” explained Bentley.

Ian Scagnetti, the body donation coordinator and a human anatomy instructor at the university, explained the in-lab time dissections can be time consuming.

“It is a resource-costly way to teach,” he added. “But it is also an irreplaceable way to teach.”

Only about one in four medical programs in Canada have students leading their own cadaveric dissections. Bentley said the disadvantages of that are huge.

“We’re noticing that the students who don’t have really strong foundational knowledge are entering into their health care training programs, not being able to translate any kind of foundational content and apply it in a clinical scenario,” said Bentley.

Bentley said only working with 3D renderings or models offers a basic understanding of the body, but it doesn’t account for complexities and different diseases that may show anatomical variations.

“I think the big consequences are it’s going to impact patient care,” said Bentley.

It’s why the University of Guelph is launching a new Master of Medical Foundations program beginning in June. It will include 65 hours of lab time, working directly with human donors for students to do dissections on.

“The look on the students’ faces when they discover these things for themselves and they get to see what happens in real-life anatomy, not just textbook anatomy,” said Scagnetti, describing something he’s looking forward to with the program.

Fourth-year undergraduate biomedical science student Isabel Louwers jumped at the opportunity to apply to the new master’s program.

“Anatomy is my life and something that I really take pride and joy in,” said Louwers.

It’s why she chose U of G. She saw the value in doing human dissections, which wasn’t being offered at other schools.

“You’re actually able to touch these structures, reflect these structures, allow for yourself to see the depth of these structures,” said Louwers.

The deadline to apply to the first cohort of the new program is March 1.

To learn more about the university’s body donation program, and how to contribute to valuable research, click here.