Evaluating self reported student competency in clinically integrated histopathology using a multi-station based and student-centred approach in graduate medical education

Abstract

Aim: To develop and evaluate a pathology curriculum which has substituted didactic practicals for a multi-station tutorial integrating self-assessment questions, clinical scenarios and pathology. Method: Eighty medical students were asked to review the curriculum using qualitative comments and based on a quantitative Likert scale. Results: We demonstrated that the multi-station approach improved student understanding of anatomy, histology, radiology, macroscopic pathology and clinical practice. There was improvement of student self-reported understanding of the clinical applications of pathology (2.19±0.1 in old curriculum versus 3.25±0.09 in new curriculum, p<0.05). In addition, we showed that this new teaching approach integrated well with the problem-based learning and provided students with more autonomy to approach their learning in ways that worked for them (2.13±0.12 old versus 2.67±0.12 new, p<0.05). Finally, the students regarded the self-assessment questions being the most useful (3.80±0.05), followed by the presence of student tutors (3.65±0.62). Discussion: Engaging the medical students to study clinically integrated histopathology using a multi-station based and student-centred approach is highly useful for learning of pathology in problem-based learning settings.