Current status of General Pathology training in Spain

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pathology Training
• Higher Education

Background:

• General Pathology is a foundational subject in physician training.
• Historically, Internal Medicine specialists have led General Pathology instruction.
• Current practices in General Pathology education require updated investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the current state of General Pathology teaching in Spanish medical schools.
• To determine the subject's denomination, credit allocation, and teaching activities.
• To ascertain the number and specialty of faculty responsible for General Pathology.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to General Pathology coordinators at 39 Spanish medical schools.
• Data collected included subject titles, credits, activities, and faculty specialties.
• Information from non-responding schools was gathered from institutional websites.

Main Results:

• 72% of medical schools responded to the survey.
• Significant variation exists in the subject's title and credit hours (mean 11.2).
• While often taught in the third year (65%), General Pathology is also present in the second year for many institutions (36%).
• Internal Medicine specialists lead instruction in 54% of cases, but collaborate with other specialties.

Conclusions:

• General Pathology instruction in Spain exhibits considerable heterogeneity.
• This variability does not appear to stem from pedagogical or teaching rationales.
• A reduced university presence of Internal Medicine may contribute to this trend.