Implementation and Evaluation of Virtual Laboratory Tours for Laboratory Diagnosis of Hematologic Disease

There is often limited time allocated to teaching laboratory medicine to medical students. Without adequate time and context, it can be difficult for students to learn appropriate uses and limitations of laboratory tests. Introducing students to the laboratories and test methods may help them learn these concepts, but physical laboratory tours are difficult to organize for large groups, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

We created virtual laboratory tours consisting of short video clips and voiceover PowerPoint slides to teach students about the laboratory tests used to diagnose hematologic malignancies. We assessed the impact on student performance on laboratory medicine-themed quiz questions and surveyed the students to determine their attitudes about the activity.

In total, 129 first-year medical students participated in the study. The average score on the preactivity quiz was 59.8%, and the average score on the postactivity quiz was 92.2%. Students were more confident in their ability to answer quiz questions after completing the activity. Postactivity survey data indicated that the students enjoyed the activity and felt it was an effective way to learn the material.

Virtual laboratory tours show promise as a method of incorporating more laboratory medicine content into medical school curricula.