Is online pathology education an effective and equitable approach for medical students?

Introduction

We assessed the performance of two cohorts of Australian medical students who were taught Pathology practical classes online or face-to-face, to see if online teaching creates an inequity in learning.

Methods

All medical students enrolled at the University of New South Wales in 2023 and 2024 were invited. The third-year Pathology practical classes for main campus students were taught face-to-face while students in rural campuses were taught online by the same teachers. All students sat a formative assessment after completing a course with 4 practical classes.

Results and discussion

A total of 328 students (out of 621, 53%) completed the formative assessments of whom 49 (15%) were rural students. There was no statistically significant difference in the average assessment score between the two groups (67% vs. 61.25%, p = 0.073). The learning resources developed by the Pathology Department of the University of New South Wales had likely reduced the inequity of online teaching.