Pathology education project (PEP): A pilot program to spark student understanding in pathology as a career

Abstract

According to the National Resident Matching Program in 2022, 631 pathology positions were offered. In total, 248 senior applicants from United States (US) allopathic schools filled 36.6% of these positions. To bolster medical student understanding of pathology, a medical school pathology interest group organized a multi-day activity to introduce rising second-year medical students to pathology as a career. Five students completed both pre- and post-activity surveys assessing their knowledge of the specialty. All five students had a BA/BS degree as their highest level of education. Only one student indicated that he or she had previously shadowed a pathologist as a medical laboratory scientist for a duration of four years. Two students indicated that they were interested in internal medicine, one indicated radiology, one forensic pathology or radiology, and one was undecided. During the activity, students biopsied tissue from cadavers in the gross anatomy lab. Thereafter, students participated in the standard tissue processing by shadowing a histotechnologist. Under the guidance of a pathologist, students microscopically examined slides and discussed the clinical findings. Post-activity survey results indicated that participation increased their knowledge of pathology as a career with a median increase of 0.8 points (range: 0.2 to 1.6) on a 5-point Likert scale. Students also indicated that their participation increased their knowledge of pathology skills and techniques—median increase of 1.2 (range: 0.8 to 1.8). This activity can be implemented by medical educators to expose medical students to pathology as a career with the benefit of increasing student knowledge in the specialty.