Assessment of Pathology Learning Modules With Virtual Microscopy in a Preclinical Medical School Curriculum
- Resource Type
- Authors
- William D Kocher; Gonzalo A. Carrasco; Matthew Gentile; Megan M. Murphy; Kathryn C. Behling; Julieta E. Barroeta; Myriam Cruz; Katherine Stewart
- Source
- American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 156:794-801
- Subject
- Adult
Male
Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
020205 medical informatics
02 engineering and technology
Final examination
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Academic Performance
0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
medicine
Humans
Curriculum
Internet
Microscopy
business.industry
030206 dentistry
General Medicine
Self-Directed Learning as Topic
Cohort
Autodidacticism
Female
Medical school curriculum
business
Hematology+Oncology
Virtual microscopy
Education, Medical, Undergraduate
- Language
- ISSN
- 1943-7722
0002-9173
Objectives To evaluate the ability of pathology modules to promote learning of pathology-related course content in a preclinical medical education curriculum. Methods Pathology modules were created for the “Hematology/Oncology” and “Women’s Health” (WH) courses. Students were recruited over 2 consecutive academic years; cohorts 1 and 2 refer to 2 separate groups of students in years 1 and 2, respectively, of the study. Course performance data were collected. Results Use of pathology modules resulted in a statistically significant higher correlation between performance on the final examination and pathology-related questions in the Hematology/Oncology course and written examination and pathology-related questions in cohort 1 in the WH course. There was statistically significant improvement (P = .026) on pathology-related laboratory practical examination questions in the WH course for cohort 1, and no other statistically significant improvement for the other cohorts and examinations. The percentage of students completing all or part of the modules was highest in the WH course for cohort 1 (60%) compared with WH course cohort 2 (33%) and Hematology/Oncology cohort 1 (30%) and cohort 2 (39%). Conclusions Pathology modules may improve acquisition and retention of pathology-related course content when used appropriately.