n our role as medical educators and researchers, we support in the strongest manner possible the personal autonomy and self-determination of our students, patients, and colleagues. A fundamental value of the medical profession is for the patient to have personal autonomy in their healthcare decisions, including how they would like to be identified. It is, and will continue to be, an important priority to be taught and encouraged throughout healthcare education,1 and it begins in the anatomy laboratory with the proper and respectful treatment of body donors.2 Learning this value continues with respecting and accepting this same autonomy in fellow students, staff, faculty, and patients.

Peer reviewed