Learning from autopsies

The teaching autopsy in undergraduate medical education, once considered indispensable, has reached near extinction in many parts of the world. Yet there is evidence to suggest that learning outcomes specific to autopsies are still vitally important to healthcare professionals. How medical students experience medico-legal autopsy demonstrations was the focus of this phenomenological study. Explicit cognitive outcomes as well as elements of the ‘hidden curriculum’ were evaluated. Medical educators should be cognisant of the broader ‘received curriculum’, as articulated by students, in order to make informed decisions regarding where, when and how the autopsy might be useful for training future doctors.