- Home
- Digital Pathology Resource Guide
- Proof of Concept
- Medical Education
Medical Education
Context
Education in pathology, at all levels, has been transformed in the last couple of years by digital pathology. Conventional methods of teaching and training, traditionally conducted over multihead microscopes with glass slides or through PowerPoint-like presentations with static images in Conferences or lectures are giving way to newer models. While traditional methods have stood the test of time, they are increasingly becoming outdated and struggling against many limitations, which became very obvious during the COVID pandemic. During that period, medical schools, pathology residency training programs, veterinary pathology, and pathology professional organizations have all embraced digital pathology for education, far beyond the previous level of adoption. This is highlighted by many of the papers mentioned below.
In undergraduate education, digital pathology provided a transformative experience in the study conducted at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai. Students embraced this educational tool for tutor-guided, student-centered learning and actually increased student attendance. This has been a big issue for pathology curriculums in medical school and use of digital pathology helped in making pathology education interactive and more engaging for the students. Whereas previously digital pathology tools in pathology were primarily encountered in basic science classes, many schools found remarkable results in adopting them for clinical clerkships in the later years of pathology. Similarly, the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, like pathology training programs in many other sites, started using digital pathology and virtual connection to maintain educational momentum during the COVID pandemic for resident training. With the pandemic ending, the department has returned to mostly in-person operations. However, given the positive experience, many didactic sessions, meetings, and training program interviews will continue in either a hybrid or virtual format, suggesting that once this is implemented, there is no going back to traditional formats. Similar experiences have been observed with post-graduate education, such as employed in national or international meetings, tumor boards and other peer-to-peer quasi-educational encounters as well as in patient-directed education efforts. This transformation has important implications on the evolution of pedagogical tools, and on the scope and venues for pathology education, potentially leading to significant solutions for vexing problems like inadequate workforce.
Medical Education
Context
Education in pathology, at all levels, has been transformed in the last couple of years by digital pathology. Conventional methods of teaching and training, traditionally conducted over multihead microscopes with glass slides or through PowerPoint-like presentations with static images in Conferences or lectures are giving way to newer models. While traditional methods have stood the test of time, they are increasingly becoming outdated and struggling against many limitations, which became very obvious during the COVID pandemic. During that period, medical schools, pathology residency training programs, veterinary pathology, and pathology professional organizations have all embraced digital pathology for education, far beyond the previous level of adoption. This is highlighted by many of the papers mentioned below.
In undergraduate education, digital pathology provided a transformative experience in the study conducted at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai. Students embraced this educational tool for tutor-guided, student-centered learning and actually increased student attendance. This has been a big issue for pathology curriculums in medical school and use of digital pathology helped in making pathology education interactive and more engaging for the students. Whereas previously digital pathology tools in pathology were primarily encountered in basic science classes, many schools found remarkable results in adopting them for clinical clerkships in the later years of pathology. Similarly, the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, like pathology training programs in many other sites, started using digital pathology and virtual connection to maintain educational momentum during the COVID pandemic for resident training. With the pandemic ending, the department has returned to mostly in-person operations. However, given the positive experience, many didactic sessions, meetings, and training program interviews will continue in either a hybrid or virtual format, suggesting that once this is implemented, there is no going back to traditional formats. Similar experiences have been observed with post-graduate education, such as employed in national or international meetings, tumor boards and other peer-to-peer quasi-educational encounters as well as in patient-directed education efforts. This transformation has important implications on the evolution of pedagogical tools, and on the scope and venues for pathology education, potentially leading to significant solutions for vexing problems like inadequate workforce.