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General Pathology Education
Suggested Articles and Resources
Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) in Pathology: Current Perspectives and Future Directions
Kumar N, Gupta R, Gupta S. Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) in Pathology: Current Perspectives and Future Directions. J Digit Imaging. 2020;33(4):1034-1040. doi:10.1007/s10278-020-00351-z
Summary: This article is a review of whole slide imaging (WSI) technology aimed at students, residents, and new-in-practice pathologists, which summarizes the technical aspects, applications, opportunities, and limitations of WSI. The review notes the technical requirements for WSI, and details examples of digital pathology applications, including telepathology and teleconsultation, undergraduate and graduate pathology education, and image analysis for research use. Given the authors’ subspeciality experience in cytopathology, this review additionally addresses the unique challenges in utilizing WSI for cytology. The authors also address general challenges of digital pathology such as high barriers to entry from large initial costs and hidden maintenance costs, noting this may be especially prohibitive for pathology practices in low- to middle-income countries. The review concludes with a discussion of future directions of WSI, including regulatory approval of digital pathology for primary diagnosis in subspecialty areas besides surgical pathology, and widespread adoption of the DICOM standards to allow for vendor-neutral interoperability of scanned slides.
COVID-19 Impact on Modern Virtual Pathology Education: Challenges and Opportunities (REF 5)
Khatibani SEA, Tabatabai S. Iran J Pathol. 2021 Fall;16(4):439-443. doi: 10.30699.
Summary: Pathology education conventional methods have been disrupted and challenged by the COVID-19 outbreak. Authors reviewed the current challenges and determined the potential implications of virtual technologies on modern pathology medical and graduate education for the future of pathology competency learning and assessment. Authors review four categories of digital tools to enhance pathology education: 1. Free web-based materials such as CaseX, 2) virtual products for competency based pathology education and assessment, 3) exposure to educational cases through virtual platforms for pathology trainees, and 4) digital pathology solutions for virtual pathology education, highlighting the work of PathLAKE in the UK.
Optical Versus Virtual Microscope for Medical Education: A Systematic Review (REF ID 24)
Kuo K, Leo JM. Optical Versus Virtual Microscope for Medical Education: A Systematic Review. Anat Sci Educ. 2019;12(6):678-685. doi:10.1002/ase.1844
Summary: This article is a review of the literature on the effectiveness of and learner attitudes towards virtual microscopy in comparison to traditional optical microscopy. The study populations included both medical student and resident learners. The authors reviewed a total of 19 articles, 18 of which used performance assessment as an outcome measure, and 10 of which used a preference survey as an outcome measure. In the medical student group, virtual microscopy was strongly preferred, and performance assessments indicated that virtual microscopy was a non-inferior to optical microscopy for these learners. The authors note that virtual microscopy allows for better incorporation of various pedagogical strategies, which may have contributed to this preference. Resident learners also performed comparably with virtual and optical microscopy, but the residents in the study populations strongly preferred optical microscopy. Further studies are needed, especially exploring optimal strategies for using virtual microscopy in residency training, in light of increasing usage of digital pathology in both licensing examinations and for primary diagnosis in many practice settings.
General Pathology Education
Suggested Articles and Resources
Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) in Pathology: Current Perspectives and Future Directions
Kumar N, Gupta R, Gupta S. Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) in Pathology: Current Perspectives and Future Directions. J Digit Imaging. 2020;33(4):1034-1040. doi:10.1007/s10278-020-00351-z
Summary: This article is a review of whole slide imaging (WSI) technology aimed at students, residents, and new-in-practice pathologists, which summarizes the technical aspects, applications, opportunities, and limitations of WSI. The review notes the technical requirements for WSI, and details examples of digital pathology applications, including telepathology and teleconsultation, undergraduate and graduate pathology education, and image analysis for research use. Given the authors’ subspeciality experience in cytopathology, this review additionally addresses the unique challenges in utilizing WSI for cytology. The authors also address general challenges of digital pathology such as high barriers to entry from large initial costs and hidden maintenance costs, noting this may be especially prohibitive for pathology practices in low- to middle-income countries. The review concludes with a discussion of future directions of WSI, including regulatory approval of digital pathology for primary diagnosis in subspecialty areas besides surgical pathology, and widespread adoption of the DICOM standards to allow for vendor-neutral interoperability of scanned slides.
COVID-19 Impact on Modern Virtual Pathology Education: Challenges and Opportunities (REF 5)
Khatibani SEA, Tabatabai S. Iran J Pathol. 2021 Fall;16(4):439-443. doi: 10.30699.
Summary: Pathology education conventional methods have been disrupted and challenged by the COVID-19 outbreak. Authors reviewed the current challenges and determined the potential implications of virtual technologies on modern pathology medical and graduate education for the future of pathology competency learning and assessment. Authors review four categories of digital tools to enhance pathology education: 1. Free web-based materials such as CaseX, 2) virtual products for competency based pathology education and assessment, 3) exposure to educational cases through virtual platforms for pathology trainees, and 4) digital pathology solutions for virtual pathology education, highlighting the work of PathLAKE in the UK.
Optical Versus Virtual Microscope for Medical Education: A Systematic Review (REF ID 24)
Kuo K, Leo JM. Optical Versus Virtual Microscope for Medical Education: A Systematic Review. Anat Sci Educ. 2019;12(6):678-685. doi:10.1002/ase.1844
Summary: This article is a review of the literature on the effectiveness of and learner attitudes towards virtual microscopy in comparison to traditional optical microscopy. The study populations included both medical student and resident learners. The authors reviewed a total of 19 articles, 18 of which used performance assessment as an outcome measure, and 10 of which used a preference survey as an outcome measure. In the medical student group, virtual microscopy was strongly preferred, and performance assessments indicated that virtual microscopy was a non-inferior to optical microscopy for these learners. The authors note that virtual microscopy allows for better incorporation of various pedagogical strategies, which may have contributed to this preference. Resident learners also performed comparably with virtual and optical microscopy, but the residents in the study populations strongly preferred optical microscopy. Further studies are needed, especially exploring optimal strategies for using virtual microscopy in residency training, in light of increasing usage of digital pathology in both licensing examinations and for primary diagnosis in many practice settings.