Being a new medico feels different in ways you don’t expect. Within the first week itself, we were taken to the dissection hall. All our lives, we’ve seen humans with skin, expressions, movement and life. And suddenly, there was a cadaver lying on the table, skin removed. Even now, I don’t really know how to explain what I felt at that moment.
Everyone around me was reacting differently. Some were silent, some curious, some clearly uncomfortable. The strong smell of formaldehyde hit immediately. It burned the eyes and nose. People kept wiping their eyes, a few covered their noses with handkerchiefs, just trying to get through it.
It was shocking and overwhelming, but also grounding. That was the moment it truly felt like the beginning of our medical journey. Not just learning anatomy, but understanding life, death.
What was your first day in the dissection hall like?
MBH/AB