want to go back to school but.....

[vegton]

So after many years of trying to decide what I want to do "when I grow up" (I'm 34) I decided I'd like to go to school to become a registered dietitian. Well, I was looking at the course descriptions at the school I was interested in and it says there is "rigorous animal dissection" which includes "cats and sheep organs". My heart broke. Even in high school I wouldn't dissect the frogs and I wasn't even a vegan back then!!

So now I don't know what to do. Do I do it (since they aren't alive)? I'm assuming that most schools will require this, but I could be wrong.

What would you all do?

[paisleyjane]

I would make an appointment with the university advising office. Express your concerns to an adviser, and they can check with the Program Chair to see if dissection is a flexible program requirement. You may be able to have that part of the course waived, or have to perform different assignments, depending on if you can still learn that information in another way without having to dissect an animal.

I know I couldn't do it either. They may say you don't have to do it but you do have to sit in on it so that you can learn what they are learning -- you will have to make that choice yourself. Best thing to do is ask the university :)

[sblthin]

Really?? I'm on my third year going toward being a RD and I haven't had to dissect anything, and no more of my courses seem like they would involve dissection. The science classes I have left are all chem, do you have to dissect stuff in chem? That seems like more of a bio thing....

That sucks though, is there any way around it? I remember dissecting cats in high school, it was horrible. We had to skin them to see the muscles, I still have nightmares.

[MaryToulouse]

Dissecting cats?! I never heard of such a thing! We don't even dissect frogs anymore! Cats!? That's unbelievable.

More to the point, I think that if there are courses you can go on that don't require dissection (which there obviously are from what sblthin says) then you should look into enrolling on one of them. It would be better to do that than miss out on parts of a course where dissection is required.

[3LittleBirds]

I would talk to the school and find out if it's mandatory. If it is, then start looking at different schools. You can definitely get that degree at some schools without having to dissect anything.

[Muffin_398]

I wouldn't do it. Thankfully, the year I wanted to take bio in high school they didn't have it available so I took it by correspondance. I didn't have to dissect anything, but my friends did when they took it the year before (at the school). So I got lucky. If they would have told me I had to do it I would have asked for a different assignment or taken an F.

[Prajnaparamita]

So after many years of trying to decide what I want to do "when I grow up" (I'm 34) I decided I'd like to go to school to become a registered dietitian. Well, I was looking at the course descriptions at the school I was interested in and it says there is "rigorous animal dissection" which includes "cats and sheep organs". My heart broke. Even in high school I wouldn't dissect the frogs and I wasn't even a vegan back then!!

So now I don't know what to do. Do I do it (since they aren't alive)? I'm assuming that most schools will require this, but I could be wrong.

What would you all do?

Oh, vegton, that sucks. I'm a pre-vet student, so unfortunately dissection is not negotiable, but there are people in my course who are going on to do zoology and biology, and they are allowed to do substitute work (essays and so on) if they object. Does the uni have a student union? Go to them- they are really good at fighting on students' behalf for this sort of thing.

[PneumaticJawz78]

For the record, this is one of the reasons I'm so interested in following a path down botany- not biology/veterinary/zoology studies. Heck, plants don't feel a damn thing. lol

Best of luck in finding alternatives- there really should be something out there for you, at least if you pester people enough, haha.

[lindamarie927]

I agree that it is unreasonable for them to require you to participate in this. You could try telling them that it offends your religious beliefs, and you might have better luck, as it is politically correct to respect religious beliefs. Maybe they would grant you an exemption.