Pathology Competencies in Medical Education and Educational Cases: Update 2023

Abstract

Pathology is a core component of medical school curricula because understanding the pathogenesis of the disease is foundational both for diagnostic efficiency and optimal use of ancillary resources in patient care. The Pathology Competencies for Medical Education (PCME) were developed as a national resource of expectations of pathology knowledge for medical students. The PCME are composed of three competencies: disease mechanisms and processes, organ system pathology, and diagnostic pathology and therapeutic pathology. The learning goals and learning objectives of the PCME that were first published in 2017 have been carefully revised and updated. Significant additions were made to fill gaps of the original PCME objectives, and some learning objectives have been retired or moved to more appropriate locations within the competencies. As curricula and the practice of medicine change, the PCME will continue to be revised and updated periodically. They have and will continue to serve as the organizing principle for the growing number of educational cases published by Academic Pathology. Nomenclature in the original and revised PCME will allow for continued linking of previous and new educational cases to the revised learning objectives. PCME and the educational cases can be adapted into any type of curricula. Having a widely accepted resource of learning objectives in pathology will help students and medical educators focus on essential components of pathology for the future practice of medicine.