Lakes College students donned surgical gowns and took part in a live post mortem experience.
As seen on BBC’s Dragon’s Den, students at the West Cumbrian college were joined by the world’s only travelling live post mortem experience for further and higher education providers the VIVIT experience.
The college’s SEN centre was transformed into a coroner’s examination room, and students were presented with a mock police case in which a body had been found floating in a river, the body was recovered and as suspicious circumstances were suspected, the special Lakes College forensic team were tasked to perform a post mortem to determine the cause of death.
The students actively located and dissected various organs throughout the day (using pig’s organs – waste products from the food industry), the smell from the room was very distinctive and not to everyone’s liking, just one hurdle those participating had to overcome.
A college spokesperson commented ‘Huge thanks to the VIVIT experience for coming to the college – it was a fantastic opportunity for our students to take part in what certainly felt (and smelt) like a real autopsy. The whole experience was very informative and really enhanced our students’ learning experience.’
Students from a range of courses at the college attended including those studying health and social care, nurse cadets, sport and uniformed public services, the once in a lifetime experience saw the students successfully determine the semi-synthetic human cadaver’s cause of death.