Students' attitudes towards commemorations and memorials in anatomy education

Commemorative ceremonies and memorial objects/places have been established at many institutions globally to honour body donors in anatomical education. Questions remain on attitudes of main stakeholders, students included, towards these ceremonies. The aim of this study was to explore anatomy students' attitudes towards commemorations at the institution which has not introduced these ceremonies yet. This study was a questionnaire-based survey, carried out on Macquarie University's anatomy students at various stages of their education, both exposed and not yet exposed to human remains. A total of 734 past and current anatomy students participated in the survey (response rate 69.8%). Majority of respondents were in favour of introducing a commemoration and a memorial for donors. Differences were found in attitudes associated with gender, attitudes towards body donation and level of exposure to human remains. Ethnicity and religion seemed to have no influence on attitudes. There was a preference for the commemoration to be secular, identities of donors to be revealed, and not recorded for social media. Results show high level of students' support towards establishment of commemorations and memorials. This support transcended cultural and religious boundaries and confirmed students' respectful attitudes and acknowledged the importance and appreciation of the "anatomical gift".