Improving Outcomes

Abstract

Objectives To determine the strength of study design and outcomes in literature describing pathology education for medical students. Methods A search was conducted for articles related to pathology education published over 45 years describing an educational intervention. The primary data collected included phase of education, domain of objectives, number of learners and institutions, type of intervention, use of a comparison/control group, randomization, and strength of statistical analysis. Results Of 655 articles, 54 (8%) met inclusion criteria. The majority (65%) reported experiences of 100 learners or fewer, and only one was multi-institutional. Only 46% used a comparison/control group. Statistical significance of results was not reported in 39%. None examined outcomes at a point distant from the educational intervention. Conclusions Most studies describing pathology educational interventions are not of strong experimental design. Consumers of educational research should be cognizant of these potential weaknesses in educational studies.

Implementing the Melanocytic Pathology Assessment Tool and Hierarchy for Diagnosis: Long-term effect of a simple educational intervention

“…Most educational intervention studies in pathology have been described as having poor experimental design, including fewer than 100 study participants, lacking data collection among multiple institutions, and failing to provide statistical significance. 23 No medical education intervention studies in a recent review article examined outcomes at a distance from the intervention. 23 The need for an evidence base in the practice of medical education is essential 24 and our study establishes an evidence base for the MPATH-Dx schema, including a large nationwide sample of pathologists from multiple institutions and establishing long-term outcomes of the intervention with statistical significance and confidence intervals provided.…”

“… 23 No medical education intervention studies in a recent review article examined outcomes at a distance from the intervention. 23 The need for an evidence base in the practice of medical education is essential 24 and our study establishes an evidence base for the MPATH-Dx schema, including a large nationwide sample of pathologists from multiple institutions and establishing long-term outcomes of the intervention with statistical significance and confidence intervals provided. Other study strengths include a high response rate (71%) among invited dermatopathologists, which surpasses standards for physician surveys.…”

Gamified versus non-gamified online educational modules for teaching clinical laboratory medicine to first-year medical students at a large allopathic medical school in the United States

“…Animations [ 6 ], interactive online quizzes [ 3 ], adaptive e-learning [ 7 ], and virtual reality tours [ 8 ] are some of the innovative strategies that have been explored. Importantly, careful curricular planning, with instructional designs grounded in educational theory, and use of comparable comparisons when appropriate are vital for the successful evaluation of new learning activities [ 1 , 9 – 11 ]; unfortunately, many educational innovations described in the literature do not meet these standards [ 2 , 6 , 12 ]. For example, in their review of animations used for medical education, Yue et al found that very few followed the principles of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning [ 6 ].…”

“…For example, in their review of animations used for medical education, Yue et al found that very few followed the principles of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning [ 6 ]. Additionally, McBrien et al found that fewer than half of the Pathology educational interventions they reviewed described the use of a control group [ 2 ].…”

Assessment Question Characteristics Predict Medical Student Performance in General Pathology

“…[23][24][25][26][27][28] However, there is a lack of robust guidelines and experimental approaches in the evaluation and critical appraisal of these educational interventions. 29,30 To that end, we sought to systematically characterize, evaluate, and compare the various types of assessment questions employed within an introductory course in general pathology during the first year of medical school instruction at our institution. Our goal was to use item-level analysis in order to identify specific assessment characteristics that might influence and predict student performance in this setting and to provide data that could be used to guide future evidence-based decision-making in promoting higher-level learning approaches.…”