Budding doctors take cadaveric oath

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 30

The cadaveric oath was first started in 2016 with the objective of sensitising the new medical students to respect cadaver as their first teacher.

While there is a lot of talk about how doctors should behave with patients, there is very less information provided to students about how to give due respect to the person who has donated his/her body for students to learn the first step of medicine.

The MCI, which introduced attitude, ethics and communication training module (AETCOM), strongly recommended the inclusion of this ceremony in the orientation programme.

The Department of Anatomy of Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, organised a Cadaveric Oath ceremony for the first year MBBS students.

The occasion was graced by Director Dr William Bhatti, Principal Dr Jeyaraj Pandian, Medical Superintendent Dr Anil Luther and Vice-Principals Dr Tejinder Singh, Dr Gagandeep, Dr Monica, Dr Abhilasha and Dr Sherin. The ceremony began with a word of prayer by Rev Alex after which Dr Anjali Jain, Head of Anatomy Department, welcomed everyone and explained the importance of cadaveric oath, saying that cadavers were once living souls who made the supreme sacrifice of donating their body for the medical education, and hence, should be treated with dignity and respect.

Director Dr William Bhatti administered the oath to the students. While addressing them, he reminisced his days as a student and stressed the importance of respecting the teachers and cadaver.

Principal Dr Jeyaraj Pandian highlighted that anatomy was the foundation for their medical career. Vice-Principal Dr Tejinder Singh stressed the importance of learning on cadavers and that computer simulations can never replace the actual feel of different structures. Medical Superintendent Dr Anil Luther emphasised the role of anatomy and its variations in surgery.