WATCH: Malta’s Medical Students Chant ‘We Are The World’ Before Dissecting Cadaver… As Association Condemns Recording
A video surfaced on Facebook today of Medical Students singing along to ‘We Are The World’ before a dissection class as an attempt to calm their nerves, with the cadaver lying on a table under a blanket.
After the video went viral, the Malta Medical Students Association (MMSA) issued a statement condemning “the behaviour shown today as regards to unethical conduct during a scheduled dissection section”, warning it breached the respect of people who donate their bodies for their purpose of medical education.
“We have always appreciated and been grateful towards the generosity of individuals that choose to donate their bodies to the benefit of our medical education,” the statement continues. “We strongly believe that their altruism to ensure that full respect is granted accordingly. For that reason, we were severely disappointed to learn that such respect was breached today.”
An MMSA spokesperson confirmed with Lovin Malta that they were not condemning the session itself but the fact that it was filmed and uploaded to Instagram.
Indeed, they said the professor is a respected and competent individual who is “skilled at ensuring full benefit of the session is attained by creating an ambience of minimum tension”.
“Many current medical professionals and students can attest to the benefit that is teaching has provided them for the full understanding of the complexity of the human body, however such concept without context may certainly appear concerning.”
“MMSA will be working with all relevant authorities to ensure that such incidents are not repeated, for the benefit of safeguarding the long-held towards those who so generously donated their body, as well as their families, and to safeguard the importance of maintaining the quality of medical education in Malta.”