A picture is worth 1000 pathological learning points: Creating visual pathology teaching materials appropriate for preclerkship medical student learning

Abstract

Quality teaching materials covering gross and microscopic pathology at an appropriate complexity level for preclerkship medical students are lacking. At our institution, feedback regarding the preclerkship course curriculum identified a need for clearer and more clinically relevant visual pathology teaching materials. Educators in the Pathology Department and School of Medicine collaborated to design PowerPoint slide decks emphasizing the interpretation of gross and microscopic pathology images at a level appropriate for preclerkship medical students that aligned with the course curriculum, including small-group learning sessions. Topics included endocrine, reproductive, gastrointestinal, liver, heart, lung, renal, musculoskeletal, neurology, and skin. Images demonstrating pathology were selected from digital image databases and annotated with clinical pearls and side-by-side comparison with normal examples. Five-hundred and eleven annotated PowerPoint slides were created for ten distinct systems-based modules, covering 70 disease entities. Survey questions regarding the modules were included in required course evaluations. The material was well received by two student cohorts who overall said the material was good, very good, or excellent for learning (57/66, 86%) and agreed or strongly agreed that it was at the appropriate educational level (50/70, 71%). In collaboration with specialty clinicians and pathologists, we harnessed digital gross and histology images to directly address gaps in pathology education identified by preclerkship medical students.