E-learning in Pathology Education: A Narrative Review and Personal Perspective

Abstract

In recent years, E-learning, also known as web-based learning, online learning, computer-assisted instruction, or internet-based learning, has been used frequently in healthcare education programmes. E-Learning has played a significant role in the author’s cytotechnology programme by providing online distance education to multiple sites nationally, and soon internationally. Although many papers currently exist regarding E-learning, the literature lacks review papers on E-learning in pathology education. The objectives of this paper, therefore, are to provide a narrative review of the approaches used in incorporating E-learning in pathology education, and to provide a faculty member’s perspective of experiences, lessons learned in developing E-learning modules, and suggestions to future faculty developers of E-learning modules. For the purpose of this review, PubMed and Google Scholar search engines were used to search articles published between the years 2008 and 2018. Any review articles and articles from proceedings were not selected for this review. The search resulted in 17 articles that met the criteria for further review. The reviewed literature showed that E-learning has been widely used in pathology education. There is, however, a lack of studies evaluating pre and post-test scores and the cost effectiveness of E-learning technologies.