Establishing pathology museum in a new medical college: Processes and challenges

Abstract

A good pathology museum is intended to strengthen the intellectual material for the undergraduate students and visits to a pathology museum are an indispensable part of teaching pathology to medical students. The preservation of anatomy of pathological specimen is of utmost importance as the new successful current methods of therapy are changing the picture of diseases beyond recognition. We aim to elaborate the processes, difficulties and challenges faced in developing and setting up the pathology museum in a nascent medical college in a rural area. The new museum was set up in accordance with the guidelines provided by the National Medical Commission in addition to the guidelines of the state university. Literature search and discussions with other medical colleges all over the country also played an important role in the setting up of the museum. Our effort is to present our experience as hands on experience for setting up a pathology museum from a scratch for the pathologists, students and the technicians and also to increase the awareness to utilize the museum for innovative and interactive learning sessions for students by usage of QR coded specimens, museum catalogues, interactive E-kiosks and maintaining of log books.