Pathology in the medical curriculum in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the medical students of yesteryear undertook a detailed pathology course, often with its own major examinations. This contributed to the increasing overload of factual information that was common in medical curricula. Following General Medical Council reports on medical education, pathology is now more fully integrated into clinical work and into problem-based learning, albeit with greatly reduced contact time with pathologists. Teaching methods have shifted from didactic presentations, such as lectures, to more varied methods, with emphasis on self-access and interactivity. Technological advances have brought well-illustrated textbooks, computer-assisted learning programs, Web resources, and electronic communication. There has been a decline in the role of museum specimens, microscopy, and, partly following a worldwide trend and partly following adverse media publicity, the traditional autopsy. Assessment methods have evolved, with integration of pathology into wider examinations. The greater drive toward increasing funding through the Research Assessment Exercise has had an adverse effect on teaching throughout universities. Despite these setbacks, the importance of pathology as a clinical discipline will ensure its continued role in medical education.