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Shaping Surgical Excellence

The Saint Louis University Practical Anatomy and Surgical Education (PASE) program has become a cornerstone of excellence, shaping the future of surgical practice and patient care through innovative training and hands-on experience. The ripple effect of PASE’s work is felt in operating rooms and clinics around the world, where patients receive better care thanks to the skilled hands and sharp minds nurtured at SLU.

Ray Vollmer, AIMS Education Specialist, instructs students on the intricacies of the brain in a cadaver workshop.
Ray Vollmer, AIMS education specialist, instructs students on the intricacies of the brain in a cadaver workshop.

“PASE provides an intimate space where physicians can collaborate and share their experiences such as surgical complications, and what they can do to be better surgeons and help their patients,” said Sarah Dawson, PASE executive director.

PASE is housed in Paul A. Young Hall, which is dedicated to the late Paul A. Young, Ph.D., professor emeritus of anatomy. There, PASE offers hands-on cadaver workshops and surgical training for health care professionals. The laboratory is also available for practitioners who rent the space for research, training sessions, or group learning. In addition, most programs are fully-accredited through the School of Medicine and Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

PASE workshops have trained thousands of medical professionals, many of whom have gone on to make significant contributions to the field of surgery. Dawson shared that the program and its historic laboratory have drawn physicians from all over the world. In its first 2024 workshop, PASE hosted a sold-out pediatric foot and ankle course to 54 participants hailing from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland.

“Through lectures and hands-on cadaver labs, our participants learn surgical techniques from world-renowned surgeons that will benefit people all over the world," Dawson said.

But, for Dawson, her role as its executive director has become more than organizing programming; it is answering a call to serve others.

“It is not just the SLU community; it is the world we are serving," said Dawson. “By giving surgeons the knowledge and skills to be better, the patients they serve will benefit from this as well. Doctors that come here to teach and participate see it in the same way because these courses help them with their careers and their calling to serve.”