Teaching of pathology in United States medical schools, 1996/1997 survey

Virtual microscopy in pathology education

“…Another limited survey in 2007 indicated that up to 40% of medical schools still used traditional microscopes and glass slides in their teaching of pathology [37]. Combining this 2007 data, and comparing it with 1997 survey data reported by Kumar et al, suggests that the number of curricula with pathology laboratories has decreased over the last decade from 98% to less than 50% and that the use of glass slides has decreased from 85% in 1997 to about 30% in 2007 [37,38].…”

“…The suggestion in this article was already preceded by a progressive devaluation of the microscope in medical student education. Before the early 1990s, most pathology courses relied on lectures and laboratories or pathology case-based exercises built around traditional microscopy [38]. Over the last several decades, a number of curricular reforms have impacted this old paradigm [37][38][39][40][41]: (1) decreased time has been allotted for pathology and other basic sciences because of the need to introduce more student contact to foundations of clinical practice in the first 2 years of medical school; (2) accrediting bodies recommended a move away from department-based didactic teaching with lectures and laboratories toward more centrally managed integrated curricula, with an emphasis on problem-based or case-based learning and self-directed study; (3) traditional microscopy has been progressively augmented and in some cases replaced by digital photomicrographs because of the efficiency, accessibility, and flexibility provided by computer-assisted education; (4) there is a perception that practicing physicians (other than pathologists) do not need to know how to use a microscope (especially for histopathology); (5) single-dimensional microscope laboratories are expensive to maintain and occupy valuable space that could be used for computer laboratories or research.…”

Will Pathology Teaching Flourish in an Integrated Medical Curriculum?

“…The introduction of an integrated curriculum could potentially result in the loss of pathology as an independent subject, and the concern of pathologists regarding the reduction of time spent teaching pathology is well recognised [2–5]. Much of this concern is based on the common misconception that teachers must increase their amount of teaching in order for learners to increase their amount of learning.…”

Teaching Cytopathology to Second-Year Medical Students

“…This form of teaching is currently being practiced in some form in almost 66% of medical schools in this country. 14 Over recent decades, cytopathology has assumed a prominent position in diagnostic pathology. No other area in pathology interacts more with radiology and clinical medicine than cytopathology.…”

“…A good understanding of the morphologic and technical aspects of the subject, taught in electronic, interactive and image-based modules in the undergraduate pathology curriculum, is the basic concept behind this project. An extensive search of the literature reveals that such a teaching program is currently nonexistent, [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] and therefore it is a pioneering effort. With different formats of the same teaching modules, this educational tool can serve a wider audience, such as the junior house staff in pathology, radiology and general surgery, and cytotechnology students.…”