Presented By: Blayne Thomason Santa Maria, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Co-Authors: Amanda Barrett, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Morgan Broniec, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Anna Edmondson, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Alisha Patel, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Purpose
The gross anatomy laboratory profoundly influences medical students, enhancing not just their understanding of human anatomy but also fostering a deeper appreciation for mortality and compassion. As medical students, our body donors are considered our "first patients". Dissection provides us self-directed learning opportunities to discover our donor's cause of death and integrate the pathological findings we encounter in lab with classroom sessions. Here we describe our experiences dissecting our donor, and the complex emotional processes we experienced throughout the journey. 

Methods 
At the Medical College of Georgia, the First Patient Discoveries Project was developed to allow pre-clerkship students the opportunity to investigate the life and death of their body donor. This integrative exercise allows students to practice clinical problem-solving by utilizing pathological findings to hypothesize their donor's cause of death, and to investigate how these findings may have impacted their donor's quality of life. After dissections, students wrote reflections on their observations as well as the emotional experience of lab and how it contributed to their learning. 

Results 
Through this process, our group identified our donor's cause of death as peritoneal cancer, but we took more away from this journey than a diagnosis. We learned how to integrate clinical information from the classroom such as histological markers and the pathogenesis of peritoneal cancer with the gross pathology we saw unfold in dissection. We considered how these pathologies affected the patient's quality of life and end-of-life decision-making. We took away a deep respect for the gift of learning and empathy that the donor gave us.

Conclusion 
Dissection is an integral part of medical education, providing intangibles that cannot be covered in a textbook or online. Students gain an appreciation for not only the medical science but the lived patient experience, which makes for more well-rounded physicians.