Refusing to dissect in A&P or Microbiology?

FaithGurl93 · Nov 12, 2012

I'm in Anatomy now and we've dissected a cat, cow brain and sheep's eye. We're usually in groups of 5 so everybody doesn't get a turn. Sometimes it grosses me out so I just observe and my professor is cool with it as long as we know what is what. Just tell your professor you're beliefs, I'm pretty sure he/she would fail you for not wanting to go against your beliefs.

CDEWannaBe · Nov 12, 2012

No one wants to do the cat dissection. I love cats and thought it was awful... until we started doing it. There is nothing like seeing the A&P you've been learning about all year in a real life example. You just can't learn as much from a picture or diagram. It gave me incredible respect for how amazingly animals and people are designed and definitely will help me as a nurse.

In our class you could choose not to do the dissection but would get a 0 on the last couple months of labs. You need to plan to do it if you want to complete A&P or pursue a career as a nurse.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2012

In nursing school we had to dissect fetal pigs. I'm not sure how they get said fetuses, but considering how some human fetuses are treated in this country, I'm not sure that we can make much of an argument against the use of a pig fetus. (and, no, this is not a thinly veiled pro life argument).

I have also dissected a cat and a dog shark...I learned more about anatomy from that they I could ever learn from a plastic model.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2012

I am sure that if you did your due diligence in looking at the courses required in nursing school you knew this was part of the curriculum.

Special treatment for you because you don't like it? Uh, no. Be a grown-up and learn to do something you don't think you can do. It won't be the last time, believe me. If after your final you feel the need to atone for having learned something just like everybody else, take up a collection in class to make a donation to the no-kill cat shelter.

mariebailey, MSN, RN · Nov 12, 2012

I was curious as to how animals were selected for dissection, and I came across this:

Q: What states have dissection laws, resolutions or policies?

A: The following states have laws upholding a student's right to choose humane alternatives to dissection without being penalized: Florida, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Illinois, Virginia, Oregon, New Jersey and Vermont. Student-choice legislation is currently pending in Connecticut. Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Mexico have Board of Education policies, and Louisiana passed a state resolution in 1992. Many schools and school boards have also independently enacted student-choice policies. Questions and Answers About Dissection : The Humane Society of the United States

I'll cross my fingers that you live in one of those states!

joel.mercado · Nov 12, 2012

I am sure that if you did your due diligence in looking at the courses required in nursing school you knew this was part of the curriculum.
Special treatment for you because you don't like it? Uh, no. Be a grown-up and learn to do something you don't think you can do. It won't be the last time, believe me. If after your final you feel the need to atone for having learned something just like everybody else, take up a collection in class to make a donation to the no-kill cat shelter.

So let me get this right. Not doing something I feel strongly against makes me a child? And it's not that I don't think I can do it, it's that I rather not. If I have to do it I will but if I can get "special treatment" and not do it, then I rather not dissect.

Derls · Nov 12, 2012

As far as Micro, like everyone has said, they are way too small to dissect.... BUT I did have to swab... shall i say the inside where the sun don't shine... to see what type of bacteria lives there.. :***:

ANYWAYS

I see your point about your beliefs and that's fine. In my class, we had groups and we usually get to pick the "surgeon" in our group, the note taker, the assistant, etc. As long as everyone participates in a certain role. Of course there will be the surgeon who doesn't do a clean cut or one that is probably born to be a surgeon. That's why we take turns or just always use the same person since they do such a great job at it. Just let your group know about your beliefs as well as your teacher and i'm pretty sure everyone can work things out for you.

But I will say this, like 2dogsandaguy had said, "...it's part of being the nurse." Although diagrams from books and pictures help from time to time, the dissections of animal parts do help you also for real time organs almost as close to what a human part may look like, but from a different perspective (cow's heart is super huge compared to the human).

It's up to you if you want to participate or not altogether, but it is part of the A&P portion and it's up to the teacher to decide on how she/he will grade you based on the lab portion of their class. Just hope that your teacher will be lenient on your beliefs and work something out for you.

gatoraims RN · Nov 12, 2012

We cannot answer that question for you. Email your instructor and see what they say. I am thankful that I had the oportinutiy to dissect in class. It helped me learn a great deal. Sure I felt horrible for the kitties and fetus pigs, but it was very educational.

I am pro-animal rights but am also see the need for some animal experimentation.

Racer15, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2012

I'm actually a veterinary technician, and we had to dissect cats and dogs two to three times a week in my A&P class for that program. One of my professors was a veterinarian and would go to the kill shelter by his house, euthanize some animals, and bring them on to school. I viewed it as a scenario where the animals were going to be put to sleep either way, and if they had to die, at least their deaths served a purpose.

mind_body_soul RN · Nov 13, 2012

As a cat lover I thought I would have a hard time dissecting the cat in A&P. It was not easy. But I learned a lot from the experience. The cats were euthanized at animal shelters or vets offices usually. They would be dead whether or not you chose to dissect them. Take it as a PSA to spay and neuter your pets. As a nursing student and eventual nurse you will see a lot of things that you may have a hard time with. Dissecting a cat or fetal pig should be the least of your worries. In my classes you could not pass without dissecting. The lab exams were based on dissections or at least labeling already dissected parts. I considered opting out but the instructor told everyone to "man up and put your game faces on" if we thought we wanted to be nurses. And he was right. As a nursing student I have seen LIVE humans suffering and living without dignity. That is much harder to see than an already dead animal being dissected.

blt99 · Nov 13, 2012

I see that as a tough situation. I love critters as well, but I didn't have a problem dissecting pigs. We used 1 pig per table (4 students) and used the same pig through the whole 4 week summer class, so at least we conserved while we learned. We didn't dissect anything in Micro, we just had fun growing and killing bacteria. I am thankful that we did pigs and not cats. I probably would have had a rough time. It was still a very valuable experience, and I still use that knowledge today.

msquaredthefirst · Nov 13, 2012

I'm also a vegetarian and huge animal lover, and I've been called a cat lady and take absolutely no offense at it, but with the dissection I just learned to suck it up and do it. I think everyone else in my class had to as well. No one likes doing the cats. We're there so we can apply what we're learning to an actual body. I usually just observe, especially since my group doesn't seem to want me doing it anyways. Maybe someone in your group will be one of those people that jumps in and takes control of everything, and you can just watch.