Investigation of the Effect of Virtual Microscopy on Pathology Education in a Medical Faculty

Abstract

Aim: Virtual microscopy technology has been widely used in histopathological diagnosis and pathology education, replacing the traditional light microscope, which is considered an important visual tool in pathology education. Slides scanned and stored online for use in virtual microscopy were first described in 1985 and have experienced significant developments since 2000. In this study. The aim of this study was to determine how virtual microscopy affected medical school students' pathology education. Methods: The study included the 3rd year students of Izmir Democracy University Faculty of Medicine. The study was conducted prior to the end-of-year pathology practice exam. As a result of the scanning performed by company received support, 102 slides were selected from the training archive and virtualized. Among them, forty slides representing lesions and organs from ten different systems, were chosen. The students were divided into two groups (group 1 and 2.) and the selected slides were used as educational material. Each student was given the opportunity to study both 20 virtual and 20 microscope slides. The students in the first group (G1) examined 20 slides (M1) of the ten systems with the light microscope and the other 20 slides on the virtual microscope (S1). On the other hand, the students in the second group (G2) examined with a light microscope (M2) the slides which shown to the first group in the virtual microscope (V1); and they examined with the virtual microscope (V2) the slides which shown to the first group in the light microscope (M1). This training course was completed in approximately eight hours. For the end-of-year pathology practice exam held the next day, the students were randomly divided into 4 groups and each group was asked questions about 10 slides from 10 different systems. These questions were about the descriptive characteristics of the organs and lesions that are examined. All slides were shown to the examinees one day later. Results: Eighty-nine students in total [n:52 (58.4%) men, n:37 (41.6%) women] took part in the survey. The study found no significant difference in overall exam scores between students using traditional light microscopy and those using virtual microscopy, with average scores being 17.2±7 on a scale of 5 to 40 points. Students who examined slides using light microscopy had an average score of 8.7±4.6, while those who used virtual microscopy had an average score of 8.6±4.1. It was found that the success rates were similar regardless of whether the students used traditional microscopy or virtual reality. Yet when the results were grouped by gender, female students had higher overall (p=0.05) and light microscopy scores (p=0.001). When the groups were investigated separately, the exam scores attained were comparable in terms of from the exam content related to major system disorders did not differ between the groups. based on learning method without any statistical significance between groups. However, while group 1 students who participated in studying with light microscopy training before the exam had higher exam scores in the exam content related to bone and soft tissue pathology compared to group 2 students studying with virtual microscopy (in bone and soft tissue pathology had a mean score of 3±1.5 vs 1.2±1.7) points, virtual learners had a mean score of 1.2±1.7 points, with a statistically significant intergroup difference according to the Mann- Whitney U test (p=0.027). Conclusions: Virtual microscopy is a crucial component of medical students' pathology training in undergraduate medical education in terms of providing opportunities for medical students to see the rare cases and standardization of the training in different institutions. Particularly in undergraduate education, it is crucial for the understanding of rare cases and standardization of the pathology education. But as our study's findings on the pathology of bone and soft tissues showed, conventional light microscopy is still essential for understanding the pathology of some systems. Moreover, one's gender may affect student's capacity for virtual learning. Understanding the distinction between genders in terms of learning capacity may aid in providing students a better education.