Introducing First Year Medical Students to the Field of Hand Surgery
The Lending a Hand program is a joint effort between the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and the American Association of Hand Surgery to raise awareness of the specialty of hand surgery among medical students. The goal is to put a hand surgeon into the anatomy class of every first year medical student.
Lending a Hand volunteers assist, but don't replace, anatomists at medical schools. Their role in the lab is to help out at the dissection tables. Some anatomy professors may also invite volunteers to lecture, but that is entirely at the discretion of the anatomy director. The primary focus of this program is assistance at dissection and to raise an awareness of the specialty. By doing these things, medical students get an idea of what the specialty of hand surgery is about early in their career. Read testimonials from members who are already actively engaged in the program.