A picture is worth 1000 pathological learning points: Creating visual pathology teaching materials appropriate for preclerkship medical student learning
5 affiliations
- 1Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Pathology, Portland, OR, USA.
- 2Stanford University, Department of Pathology, Stanford, CA, USA.
- 3The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Department of Pathology, Columbus, OH, USA.
- 4Benha University, Department of Pathology, Al-Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt.
- 5Stanford Univeristy, Department of Neurology, Stanford, CA, USA.
Abstract
Quality teaching materials covering gross and microscopic pathology at an appropriate complexity level for preclerkship medical students are lacking. At our institution, feedback regarding the preclerkship course curriculum identified a need for clearer and more clinically relevant visual pathology teaching materials. Educators in the Pathology Department and School of Medicine collaborated to design PowerPoint slide decks emphasizing the interpretation of gross and microscopic pathology images at a level appropriate for preclerkship medical students that aligned with the course curriculum, including small-group learning sessions. Topics included endocrine, reproductive, gastrointestinal, liver, heart, lung, renal, musculoskeletal, neurology, and skin. Images demonstrating pathology were selected from digital image databases and annotated with clinical pearls and side-by-side comparison with normal examples. Five-hundred and eleven annotated PowerPoint slides were created for ten distinct systems-based modules, covering 70 disease entities. Survey questions regarding the modules were included in required course evaluations. The material was well received by two student cohorts who overall said the material was good, very good, or excellent for learning (57/66, 86%) and agreed or strongly agreed that it was at the appropriate educational level (50/70, 71%). In collaboration with specialty clinicians and pathologists, we harnessed digital gross and histology images to directly address gaps in pathology education identified by preclerkship medical students.
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BibTeX
@article{hammer2026picture,
title = {{A picture is worth 1000 pathological learning points: Creating visual pathology teaching materials appropriate for preclerkship medical student learning}},
author = {Phoebe M Hammer and Krishna L Bharani and Aubre Gilbert and Ahmed Afifi and Josselyn Sofia Vergara Cobos and Jaclyn B Anderson and Cindy Wang and Rebecca Kate Miller-Kuhlmann and Kelly Ernst},
journal = {Academic Pathology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.acpath.2026.100305},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acpath.2026.100305},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A picture is worth 1000 pathological learning points: Creating visual pathology teaching materials appropriate for preclerkship medical student learning
AU - Phoebe M Hammer
AU - Krishna L Bharani
AU - Aubre Gilbert
AU - Ahmed Afifi
AU - Josselyn Sofia Vergara Cobos
AU - Jaclyn B Anderson
AU - Cindy Wang
AU - Rebecca Kate Miller-Kuhlmann
AU - Kelly Ernst
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/17
JO - Academic Pathology
DO - 10.1016/j.acpath.2026.100305
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acpath.2026.100305
AB - Quality teaching materials covering gross and microscopic pathology at an appropriate complexity level for preclerkship medical students are lacking. At our institution, feedback regarding the preclerkship course curriculum identified a need for clearer and more clinically relevant visual pathology teaching materials. Educators in the Pathology Department and School of Medicine collaborated to design PowerPoint slide decks emphasizing the interpretation of gross and microscopic pathology images at a level appropriate for preclerkship medical students that aligned with the course curriculum, including small-group learning sessions. Topics included endocrine, reproductive, gastrointestinal, liver, heart, lung, renal, musculoskeletal, neurology, and skin. Images demonstrating pathology were selected from digital image databases and annotated with clinical pearls and side-by-side comparison with normal examples. Five-hundred and eleven annotated PowerPoint slides were created for ten distinct systems-based modules, covering 70 disease entities. Survey questions regarding the modules were included in required course evaluations. The material was well received by two student cohorts who overall said the material was good, very good, or excellent for learning (57/66, 86%) and agreed or strongly agreed that it was at the appropriate educational level (50/70, 71%). In collaboration with specialty clinicians and pathologists, we harnessed digital gross and histology images to directly address gaps in pathology education identified by preclerkship medical students.
SN - 2374-2895
ER -