Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Body Donor Memorial Service

I was able to take part in the Body Donor Memorial Service at University of California, Davis Freeborn Hall on September 27, 2008. This service is organized entirely by students and is held annually to thank the families of body donors for their contribution to health science programs. This year there were over 300 friends and family members in attendance.

It was a great honor for me to represent our Doctor of Physical Therapy program by attending this gathering. Giving thanks to not only the donors but their families and friends for their understanding was quite a humbling experience. This experience offered me the opportunity to truly discover the uniqueness of our anatomy dissection coursework. Where textbooks are limited in their ability to capture the authenticity of the human body, our anatomy dissection allows us to discover a pure representation of the human body. The time spent in the Anatomy Laboratory is without question our greatest learning tool. Every student in our program would tell you that at no other time, and no other place, could we have received the completeness of learning the human body in the way that our anatomy dissection coursework has allowed us. Having anatomy dissection in our curriculum not only makes us realize the unique privilege we have had, but also prepares us to treat our future patients.

Rich Rose, Class of 2009