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Undergraduate Medical Education
Suggested Articles and Resources
Virtual Microscopy in Undergraduate Pathology Education: An early transformative experience in clinical reasoning
Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2021 Aug;21(3):428-435. doi: 10.18295/squmj.4.2021.009.
Summary: Whole-slide imaging and virtual microscopy (VM) have revolutionized teaching, diagnosis and research in histopathology. This study aimed to establish the feasibility of achieving early integration of clinical reasoning with undergraduate pathology teaching on a VM platform and to determine its student-centricity through student feedback. This study was conducted at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between August and December 2017. A total of 38 VM-centered clinical cases were introduced to 49 students in an integrated undergraduate medical curriculum. The cases were aligned to curricular objectives, reinforced the pathologic basis of disease with critical thinking and were delivered across 15 interactive small-group sessions. A simulated cross-disciplinary integration and judicious choice of pertinent diagnostic investigations were linked to principles of management. Feedback was obtained through a mixed-methods approach. User-friendliness, gradual learning curve of VM and annotation-capacity were scored as 4–5 (on a Likert scale of 1–5) by 91.84%, 87.76% and 83.67% of the participants, respectively. Most students agreed that the content matched the stage of learning (81.63%), theme of the week (91.84%) and development of a strong clinical foundation (77.55%). Integration (85.71%) and clinico-pathological correlation (83.67%) were the strengths of this educational effort. High student attendance (~100%) and improved assessment scores on critical thinking (80%) were observed. Software lacunae included frequent logouts and lack of note-taking tools. Easy access was a significant student-centric advantage. A VM-centered approach with a clinico-pathological correlation has been successfully introduced to inculcate integrated learning. Using the pathologic basis of disease as a fulcrum and critical reasoning as an anchor, a digitally-enabled generation of medical students have embraced this educational tool for tutor-guided, student-centered learning.
Continuing Undergraduate Pathology Medical Education in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Global Pandemic: The Johns Hopkins Virtual Surgical Pathology Clinical Elective
White MJ, et al. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2021;145:814–820; doi: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0652-SA
Summary: In the early months of the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) (Baltimore, Maryland) leadership reached out to faculty to develop and implement virtual clinical clerkships after all in-person medical student clinical experiences were suspended.To develop and implement a digital slide-based virtual surgical pathology (VSP) clinical elective to meet the demand for meaningful and robust virtual clinical electives in response to the temporary suspension of in-person clinical rotations at JHUSOM. The VSP elective was modeled after the in-person surgical pathology elective to include virtual previewing and sign-out with standardized cases supplemented by synchronous and asynchronous pathology educational content. Validation of existing Web communications technology and slide-scanning systems was performed by feasibility testing. Curriculum development included drafting of course objectives and syllabus, Blackboard course site design, electronic-lecture creation, communications with JHUSOM leadership, scheduling, and slide curation. Subjectively, the weekly schedule averaged 35 to 40 hours of asynchronous, synchronous, and independent content, approximately 10 to 11 hours of which were synchronous. As of February 2021, VSP has hosted 35 JHUSOM and 8 non-JHUSOM students, who have provided positive subjective and objective course feedback. iThe Johns Hopkins VSP elective provided meaningful clinical experience to 43 students in a time of immense online education need. Added benefits of implementing VSP included increased medical student exposure to pathology as a medical specialty and demonstration of how digital slides have the potential to improve standardization of the pathology clerkship curriculum.
Undergraduate Medical Education
Suggested Articles and Resources
Virtual Microscopy in Undergraduate Pathology Education: An early transformative experience in clinical reasoning
Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2021 Aug;21(3):428-435. doi: 10.18295/squmj.4.2021.009.
Summary: Whole-slide imaging and virtual microscopy (VM) have revolutionized teaching, diagnosis and research in histopathology. This study aimed to establish the feasibility of achieving early integration of clinical reasoning with undergraduate pathology teaching on a VM platform and to determine its student-centricity through student feedback. This study was conducted at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, between August and December 2017. A total of 38 VM-centered clinical cases were introduced to 49 students in an integrated undergraduate medical curriculum. The cases were aligned to curricular objectives, reinforced the pathologic basis of disease with critical thinking and were delivered across 15 interactive small-group sessions. A simulated cross-disciplinary integration and judicious choice of pertinent diagnostic investigations were linked to principles of management. Feedback was obtained through a mixed-methods approach. User-friendliness, gradual learning curve of VM and annotation-capacity were scored as 4–5 (on a Likert scale of 1–5) by 91.84%, 87.76% and 83.67% of the participants, respectively. Most students agreed that the content matched the stage of learning (81.63%), theme of the week (91.84%) and development of a strong clinical foundation (77.55%). Integration (85.71%) and clinico-pathological correlation (83.67%) were the strengths of this educational effort. High student attendance (~100%) and improved assessment scores on critical thinking (80%) were observed. Software lacunae included frequent logouts and lack of note-taking tools. Easy access was a significant student-centric advantage. A VM-centered approach with a clinico-pathological correlation has been successfully introduced to inculcate integrated learning. Using the pathologic basis of disease as a fulcrum and critical reasoning as an anchor, a digitally-enabled generation of medical students have embraced this educational tool for tutor-guided, student-centered learning.
Continuing Undergraduate Pathology Medical Education in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Global Pandemic: The Johns Hopkins Virtual Surgical Pathology Clinical Elective
White MJ, et al. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2021;145:814–820; doi: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0652-SA
Summary: In the early months of the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) (Baltimore, Maryland) leadership reached out to faculty to develop and implement virtual clinical clerkships after all in-person medical student clinical experiences were suspended.To develop and implement a digital slide-based virtual surgical pathology (VSP) clinical elective to meet the demand for meaningful and robust virtual clinical electives in response to the temporary suspension of in-person clinical rotations at JHUSOM. The VSP elective was modeled after the in-person surgical pathology elective to include virtual previewing and sign-out with standardized cases supplemented by synchronous and asynchronous pathology educational content. Validation of existing Web communications technology and slide-scanning systems was performed by feasibility testing. Curriculum development included drafting of course objectives and syllabus, Blackboard course site design, electronic-lecture creation, communications with JHUSOM leadership, scheduling, and slide curation. Subjectively, the weekly schedule averaged 35 to 40 hours of asynchronous, synchronous, and independent content, approximately 10 to 11 hours of which were synchronous. As of February 2021, VSP has hosted 35 JHUSOM and 8 non-JHUSOM students, who have provided positive subjective and objective course feedback. iThe Johns Hopkins VSP elective provided meaningful clinical experience to 43 students in a time of immense online education need. Added benefits of implementing VSP included increased medical student exposure to pathology as a medical specialty and demonstration of how digital slides have the potential to improve standardization of the pathology clerkship curriculum.