Anatomy and Physiology classes visited the labs at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science on April 10 to explore both a cadaver lab and a health simulation labs. This experience gave them a firsthand look at how the human body is studied and how medical professionals are trained.
The purpose of the trip was to deepen students’ understanding of anatomy by moving beyond textbooks into real-life observation. Anatomy &and Physiology and AP Biology teacher Cameron Slife explains why this experience is such an important part of understanding anatomy.
“The goal for the field trip was to give students an opportunity to observe human organs,” Slife said. “In class, we use figures and diagrams, but when you have the opportunity to see human organs in a cadaver, it brings together everything that you’ve been learning.”
Since most high school classes do not have access to human organs, students usually work with animal organs instead. This makes opportunities like this trip especially valuable and also gives students insight into future healthcare careers.
“It’s also about helping to inspire students,” Slife said. “By seeing what a college-level anatomy course looks like, which is required for many health careers, students can better understand what is available to them.”
Before even entering the cadaver lab, some students were unsure of what to expect. Senior Claire Georgees describes her feelings leading up to the experience.
“Before going into the cadaver lab, I was nervous about seeing the whole body of the person and that it would make me queasy, especially if we had to see the face, but I was excited to see parts like the brain, stomach and lungs since that’s what we were learning in anatomy,” Georgees said.
After her initial hesitation, Georgees found the experience to be valuable.
“The most interesting thing I learned was probably how a teratoma looks in real life in the ovaries,” Georgees said. “I was also surprised by how much of a size difference parts of the body can be, like the stomach, and how stretchy and soft they felt.”
In addition, experiences like this one helped students to see what they had learned in class in a more realistic and detailed manner. Senior Sayan Khan was able to see a cadaver and form his own perspective on the human body.
“It’s a human and it’s something that I see every day,” Khan said. “However, being able to see the inside of the human cut open to all the different parts and actually being able to touch it was really cool. It shows how we’re made up of so many different parts and what’s actually underneath what we see on the surface.”
After the cadaver lab, students went to the health simulation lab, where they were able to take a more active role in learning. The lab is designed to replicate a hospital environment, with realistic equipment and patient simulators that respond like real patients.
“My favorite part was the health simulation lab,” Khan said. “Everything was exactly like it would be in a hospital and we got to play around with the mannequins and test their blood pressure and pulse as though they were a real person.”
Slife finds that experiences like this are especially impactful because they allow students to engage with the material in multiple ways, making the learning more meaningful and memorable.
“Hands-on experiences can be really powerful,” Slife said. “The learning you get from them can be long-lasting. You’re using multiple ways to learn, and experiences like visiting a cadaver lab or a health simulation lab provide real examples of what we study in class, helping students connect theory to practice.”
