By stewartb

‘A rise in the number of students studying medicine in Scotland has resulted in a shortage of cadavers, according to a report. Prof Gordon Findlater, who is HM Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland, found that surgical colleges were having to cancel university training courses because the demand for bodies was so high.’

As always one needs to read BBC Scotland’s news reports carefully and to the end in order to get a full – or at best a fuller – picture.

Source https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/independent-report/2024/07/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-2023-2024/documents/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-scottish-ministers/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-scottish-ministers/govscot%3Adocument/hm-inspector-anatomy-scotland-annual-report-scottish-ministers.pdf

The HM Inspector’s Annual Report in para 124: ‘There is however a potential problem arising from the increasing number of medical students attending University with the resulting increased demand for bodies. This is already having an impact on the Surgical Colleges who are now having to cancel training courses due to medical schools having to meet their own needs first before that of the Colleges.‘

On demand, the report explains: ‘Use of Bodies other than for the Teaching of Medical Students: It is invariably the case that when someone leaves their body to the medical school, the assumption is made that is for the teaching of anatomy to undergraduate medical students. However, what is not always appreciated is the use made of donated bodies for the advancement of medical science and surgical training. Without exception, every Scottish medical school makes donated bodies available to surgeons in training and to research scientists enabling pioneering research to take place in Scotland.’

An annex of the HM Inspector’s Annual Report lists the courses that may wish to access cadavers for other than teaching medical students. These include ones offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. My understanding is that the College offers its courses to medical professionals across the UK and internationally. Has there been an increase in demand from providers of CPD courses for surgeons in Scotland, the rUK or internationally?

Para 116 of the Annual Report compares relevant metrics for the year 2023-24 with those in the previous year’s report. On ALL the input metrics, the numbers for 2023-24 are more favourable – if in instances only slightly – than for 2022-23: perhaps this is why the HM Inspector uses the term ‘potential’ in the 2023-24 Annual Report’s conclusion!

The HM Inspector’s report makes NO MENTION of the increased use of digital cadavers alongside human cadavers in medical education and training. What is the further, future potential of this digital technology blended with more traditional teaching methods?