Ethical principles

Tampere Surgical Education Centre is an international, non-profit, and ethically high-quality center of excellence. We adhere to the highest ethical values and quality standards in our educational activities. We respect the human dignity and legal protection of the deceased. Educational activities are of a general interest nature and do not pursue financial profit.

The operation of Tampere Surgical Education Centre (TSEC) is subject to a permit. The teaching licence is based on Finnish law and Government decrees. Our permit to operate is granted by the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea. TSEC provides Fimea with an annual activity report, and the supervisory authority also conducts performance audits on a regular basis.

The medical and ethical activities of Tampere Surgical Education Centre are the responsibility of a specialist, Medical Advisor. A monitoring group has been set up to guide and monitor the productivity of TSEC operations and service production, forms of cooperation and activities, and meets three times a year.

Medical objectives

The medical objective of TSEC is to improve surgical expertise and patient safety in the area of The Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa as well as nationally and internationally.

Despite quite advanced models and simulators, the need to practice medical procedures under the most realistic conditions will remain. Many of surgical skills are non-technical and relate to situational awareness, decision-making process, leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. These skills can only be practiced in the operating theatre or similar conditions.

In addition to doctors, also other professional groups involved in patient care need training. In emergencies or in the event of a complication, the entire team's actions should be compatible and pre-arranged, as there is no time to allocate tasks.

Practicing the use of surgical implants or devices in cadavers before performing procedures in living patients is an important part of surgical training. A person may live with an implant for decades, so minimizing installation errors is paramount. User errors with surgical devices, on the other hand, can lead to unforeseen and intractable complications.

Use of the deceased in surgical training

In TSEC, deceased may only be used at the time of the autopsy. Most of the time, surgical training takes place after an autopsy. In certain cases, training may be performed before the autopsy. In this case, the education provider must provide an accurate explanation of the planned procedures for the medical examiner, who will assess whether the training may endanger the investigation of the cause of death.

According to our teaching licence, the use of the deceased is permitted only if

• there are justified medical reasons for the training, and Fimea has granted permission for the type of procedure
• one can assume that while alive, the deceased would not have objected to the use of his or her body for teaching purposes
• teaching does not endanger the determination of the cause of death or organ and tissue transplantation
• the appearance of the deceased is not substantially altered by the training
• teaching does not delay the handover of the deceased to the bereaved for burial or cremation 

Our coordinators will always ensure the will of the deceased in regard the use of his or her body for training purposes. This is done by calling the next of kin and, if possible, also from the patient records.

During the training events, the deceased are treated with respect for their human dignity and legal security and with the protection of their identity. Our staff is responsible for the preparation of the deceased. In our surgical laboratory, the deceased are treated like patients in the operating room. The deceased are draped as in the OR. Only pre-arranged procedures can be performed. All wounds are closed neatly and properly. If any footage of the procedure is recorded, the deceased cannot be identified from it. Before entering the surgical laboratory, all participants must sign a commitment form to affirm compliance with the rules of TSEC.

Teaching activities do not delay funerals. The timing of the deceased´s handover is agreed with the family. Funeral expenses are not reimbursed to the family of the deceased.

Body donation

Tampere Surgical Education Centre does not accept body donation wills. It is enough that your willingness to act as a teaching patient after death is recorded to the patient records, in the living will or My Kanta pages. It is also recommended telling your loved ones about it.

You can donate your body to Tampere University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology for teaching. In that case, it is used for the teaching of anatomy to medical students. The faculty will then take care of the cremation and related transport costs. For more information, contact coordinator Sari Juvonen, Tampere University.

Research and product development

All medical devices used in TSEC must have a marketing authorization within the EU. The teaching license of TSEC cannot be used for product development or for testing unlicensed equipment or instruments.

If the partners wish to conduct scientific research on the deceased in TSEC, they can apply for a separate permit from the National Institute for Health and Welfare for the research use of the deceased. The application must be accompanied by a favorable opinion of the competent ethics committee. Before starting the licensing process, the research team should contact TSEC’s Medical Advisor to discuss practical issues.