Paying Tribute to Willed Body Donors

On February 5th, students at the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix and Northern Arizona University held a Ceremony of Appreciation to honor their willed body donors from their Clinical Anatomy Course. The willed body donors played an integral role in providing students an opportunity to inspire perspectives on altruism and empathy and, to reflect on their own views of death and dying.  Students worked with the donors for 15 weeks, spending a minimum of six hours twice each week exploring the details of the various organ systems, muscles, and nerves.  At the Ceremony of Appreciation to honor the donors, they shared narratives, artwork and musical tributes.  Students expressed the gratitude, knowledge, inspiration, and privilege they felt while learning from the donors.