SHB/Anatomy Lab Opening Blessing

The start of the Structure of the Human Body course is a rite of passage for all medical students, across generations and institutions. As a way to mark this important milestone for first year medical students, the Health Sciences Campus Ministry team offers a blessing – for the students, instructors, donors, and lab spaces – at both the beginning and end of the Human Anatomy course. The communal reflection time includes music, readings from sacred scripture, prayers of intention, ritual, and spoken reflections. At the beginning of the course, each of the donated bodies are individually blessed and students have the opportunity to express their hopes for learning and growth throughout the semester. As the course draws to a close, student representatives share a spoken reflection on the meaning of the course for their education and vocation, and a single white rose is placed on each donor bay as a symbol of gratitude for the “silent teachers” who offered themselves and their bodies in order to shape future physicians.