Yale School of Medicine MD anatomy students gathered in the TAC Auditorium on Monday, December 5 for the school’s annual Service of Gratitude. It was an opportunity for the class to come together and honor the lives of those who donated their bodies to make the students’ anatomy training possible. After a hiatus due to COVID, the opportunity to once again celebrate in-person was extra special.
“Anatomy lab is important for learning more about how the human body works. But it’s also a reminder of the humanity of medicine, which can get lost with all the pre-clinicals, bookwork, and studying,” said Diane Zhao, one of the student organizers. “It’s important to take a moment and reflect not only about the humanity of the donors, but the humanity of all the patients whom we will be working with for the rest of our lives.”
I am 88. I was a physician. Yes, I knew exactly what would happen to me in the lab, but I knew how important it was to be there for you.
A posthumous message from a donor
The service began with a moment of silence for the donors led by Nisarg Shah, another one of the organizers. Next, it welcomed several speakers, including Phil Lapre, who oversees YSM’s Willed Body Donation Program, and course directors Charles Duncan, MD, senior research scientist, and William Stewart, PhD, associate professor of surgery (gross anatomy). Stewart’s talk, titled “Who Am I?” offered students a peek into the lives of the donors.
“I am 88. I was a physician,” he read. “Yes, I knew exactly what would happen to me in the lab, but I knew how important it was to be there for you.”
Medical students Judy Li and Grace Wang followed Stewart’s talk with a violin concerto. Then, the organizers offered the attendees the chance to participate in a short reflection activity. “We wanted to give everyone the space to reflect in whatever way felt most appropriate to them,” said student organizer Katrine Madsen.
Furthermore, each year, when the anatomy course ends, body donors and their families have the choice to have cremated remains interred by Yale at Evergreen Cemetery, a beautiful 85-acre non-sectarian cemetery located about one mile from YSM. This past year, YSM engraved one large memorial stone and four small markers to honor these body donors. A team of YSM MD and PA Online students drafted messages to inscribe. The school then shared their ideas with some family members of body donors and asked for feedback.
Based on this collaborative process, the school had the following language engraved on the large memorial stone: “With deep gratitude, we thank those who gave the most precious gift. Their generosity to medical education will be cherished for generations to come.” The four small markers now are inscribed with: “Honoring those who gave their body in death so we may save others in life.”