In search of a deeper meaning: ATSU-KCOM students use self-expression to reflect on anatomy experiences
Posted: April 3, 2025
Exploring and implementing innovative teaching methods for the gross anatomy course at ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) is always top of mind for Sara Funk, DPT, assistant professor, anatomy. As an educator, Dr. Funk strives to provide students with unique opportunities to expand their knowledge and transform their learning experience.
For Dr. Funk, it’s not just about dissecting a human cadaver and learning how the body’s components work together to maintain life. It’s also about comprehending what one cannot see with the naked eye, and having takeaways from the experience – learning how to work collaboratively with lab partners, sharpening one’s observational skills, and developing a strong sense of empathy and respect for others, especially future patients.
As the course progressed, Dr. Funk began to take notice of small drawings that students would create on practical exams to help them remember information. Some were simple sketches and some were complex, but all revealed these students are high-achieving and multidimensional, showing their enjoyment for an alternative method of self-expression beyond traditional science and medicine.
The revelation prompted Dr. Funk to develop an optional assignment for students to complete, one with no format or restrictions. Her only guidance was for the resulting work to be a personal reflection of the student’s experience in the dissection lab. To her surprise, almost 100 students completed the optional assignment, submitting a diverse array of highly creative projects.
“I think it was very cathartic for many of them,” says Dr. Funk, whose students submitted written essays, poems, children’s books, watercolor paintings, sketches, pencil and ink drawings, puzzles, crochet projects, and more. “I plan to include this optional assignment as a regular part of ATSU-KCOM’s gross anatomy course.”
To recognize the first-year students’ exceptional talent and share the deeper meaning of their dissection experience, Patricia Sexton, DHEd, MS, FNAOME, ’08, associate dean of medical education, professor of family medicine, collaborated with Dr. Funk to host an anatomy art exhibition in August where their projects were on display for fellow students, faculty, and staff to enjoy. A second exhibit was assembled for ATSU-KCOM’s Gift of Body Ceremony, an annual event held in October to honor those who gifted their bodies to the University, along with their families.
“The families do not always get the perspective of what this means to the students,” Dr. Funk says. “The Gift of Body Ceremony and exhibit are really nice ways to honor that experience.”
Mutiara Schlanker, OMS II
Anonymous
Matthew Berrios, OMS II
Hadyn DeLeeuw, OMS II
Elana Mann, OMS II
Emalie Petersen, OMS II
Hannah Billig, OMS II
Christeena JoJo, OMS II
Sunny Patel, OMS II
Journal Entry (5-2-24)
To our Donor,
Thank you for having the courage to show your most vulnerable side and take the leap of faith to help the patients who are coming into the ED or operating room to have their lives in our hands. You will save many through your education that you have provided us. We are forever grateful! – Zak Sabetta, OMS II
A Silent Orchestra
by Haya Ahmed, OMS II
A human form lies still, serene.
Upon the table, a wonder unseen.
At the sight of this shell once filled with breath,
I am reminded of the fragility of life and death.
Beneath the skin, a story unfolds.
Stories of the donor’s existence are told.
Each incision reveals a tale.
Was the cause of death cancer, suicide, or simply growing frail?
Muscles and tendons are woven into a symphony.
One wrong cut, and the mystery remains incomplete.
A donor’s gift is a silent plea,
For us to unravel their journey delicately.
Memories linger in each vein,
Echoes of laughter, drops of pain.
Nerves that hum, a heart that softly strums,
Both ringing as reminders of a life gone numb.
Whispers of dreams lost in a haze,
Left behind in an intricate maze.
A life that once felt joy and sorrow
Is now a silent orchestra for the physicians of tomorrow.
Silent Teachers
by Rose Kalu Igwe, OMS I
Life, a sacred gift we dissect with care,
Anatomy’s canvas, our journey to bear,
Seen through the eyes of eager med students’ plight,
And pondered by those who donate in the night.
Life, a spectrum of joy and pain we explore,
In the silent cadaver, our lessons implore,
Accidents, sickness, and nature’s decree,
In every incision, a story we see.
Death, the silent teacher, in repose,
Cold and still, where knowledge flows,
It sweeps us into the depths of the unknown,
Yet grants us wisdom, though we may groan.
Muscles, bones, neurovasculartures, and facias from a cadaver
All these we understand better,
Through the silent teachings of the dissected form,
In each incision, knowledge begins to swarm.
In the quiet halls where anatomy reigns,
In the echo of scalpels and the scent of remains,
We stand in reverence for the life they led,
For the wisdom they offer in the silent bed.
Their last breaths our hearts do mourn,
In memories cherished forever adorned
Though they’ve left us, their spirit shall stay
Guidling us through each passing day.
Ken
by Jenna Arciero, OMS II
I am not used to holding a hand whose life is far away
How intimately I know him without his name
Tattoos
Scars
How he transitioned from this world
A gift of body
From him to me
Am I worthy of this?
We gave him a name
Because from him, we now know
I glimpsed inside
Held in my hands what a book could never show
Seen the beauty of our form
How everything works together
Until it does not
We were upset when we couldn’t make you look perfect
As perfect as we imagined you to be
We spent more time with you than our loved ones
Though we act as a family
Laughing, chatting, listening to music with you
My patients won’t know what I have experienced
They won’t understand the immensity of the gift wrapped
in blue
For the first day we met you still lingers in my mind
But it does not haunt
I now look at my patients and truly see them
They are also gifts to be honored
People I can possibly help
But for him, I cannot
He has given more than I can ever return
Thank you for being patient with us
Thank you for teaching us
You have never known me
But I will never forget you
Ken