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Pathology Rotations Embedded Within Surgery Clerkships Can Shift Student Perspectives About Pathology

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Abstract

Purpose

Medical school curricula have focused more on early clinical exposure with compressed didactic curricula, raising questions on how pathology can be effectively integrated into clinically relevant medical education. This study highlights how a required 1-week pathology rotation embedded within a surgery clerkship can impact students’ knowledge base and perspectives of pathology.

Methods

One hundred ninety-two medical students rotated through a newly designed mandatory 1-week pathology rotation during surgery clerkship. Post-rotation feedback and survey data from students were collected to evaluate their perspectives of pathology. Pathology residents and faculty were surveyed about changes on workflow imposed by the new rotation.

Results

Eighty percent of student respondents agreed the rotation improved understanding of pathology workflow and its integration into the larger picture of healthcare delivery. 62% and 66% reported the rotation had a positive impact on their perspectives of pathology and pathologists, respectively. However, a significant number pathology resident respondents noted that integration of students into clinical activities either slightly (42%) or significantly (5%) decreased their own learning. Both pathology faculty and residents also noted medical student presence either slightly (19% and 37%, respectively) or significantly (63% and 58%, respectively) decreased workflow efficiency.

Conclusions

Integration of pathology rotations into surgical clerkships is a viable strategy to remedy decreased pathology contact and education due to curricular restructuring that condenses preclinical time while offering medical students a more integrated and practical perspective of pathology as a field. It is essential for pathology departments to prioritize and actively participate in both preclinical and clinical curricular development.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article [and/or] its supplementary material files. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Alexander S. Taylor, Lauren Kroll-Wheeler & Madelyn Lew

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  1. Alexander S. Taylor
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  2. Lauren Kroll-Wheeler
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  3. Madelyn Lew
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Correspondence to Madelyn Lew.

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Ethics Approval

An IRB entitled “Impact of pathology rotations embedded within surgery clerkships on student perspectives about pathology” (HUM0021517) was submitted at the University of Michigan and qualified for IRB exemption 1 at 45 CFR 46.104(d): research, conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, that specifically involves normal educational practices that are not likely to adversely impact students’ opportunity to learn required educational content or the assessment of educators who provide instruction. This includes most research on regular and special education instructional strategies and research on the effectiveness of or the comparison among instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Taylor, A.S., Kroll-Wheeler, L. & Lew, M. Pathology Rotations Embedded Within Surgery Clerkships Can Shift Student Perspectives About Pathology. Med.Sci.Educ. 32, 793–801 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-022-01569-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-022-01569-y

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