Ethics in Medical Education

Help End the Live Animal Lab at the University
of Tennessee College of Medicine 

You can help us end the live animal lab at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Twenty years ago, live animals were commonly used in surgery classes at medical schools. A standard lab involved anesthetizing the animal, followed by practicing surgical techniques. After the class, the animal was killed.

Today, the University of Tennessee still offers this cruel and unnecessary exercise. The school uses pigs in its third-year surgery clerkship multiple times throughout the school year. The next surgery clerkship begins May 5, 2008. This continues despite the existence of superior, nonanimal alternatives like the TraumaMan System.

Call, e-mail, fax, or write Executive Dean Steve J. Schwab, M.D., and Timothy C. Fabian, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and politely ask them to end the school’s live animal lab program. Being polite is the most effective way to help these animals.

Send an automatic e-mail>

Steve J. Schwab, M.D.
Executive Dean
University of Tennessee College of Medicine
62 South Dunlap St., Room 405
Memphis, TN 38163
T: (901) 448-5529
F: (901) 448-7683
sschwab@utmem.edu

Timothy C. Fabian, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
910 Madison Ave., 2nd Floor
Memphis, TN 38163
T: (901) 448-5914
F: (901) 448-7306
tfabian@utmem.edu

Fortunately, more than 90 percent of schools have eliminated live animal labs from their curricula altogether. Innovations in medical simulation technology, availability of alternatives, increased awareness of ethical concerns, and a growing acknowledgement that medical training must be human-focused have all facilitated this shift. Only eight out of 126 medical schools in the United States still use live animals in their curricula.

Learn more about live animal labs and what you can do to help end them. If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Merkley at rmerkley@pcrm.org or 202-686-2210, ext. 336.

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