Enhancing Pathology Knowledge for Biomedical Scientists: Pilot Cohort Study of a Comprehensive Self-Paced Tutorial...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Research
• Medical Education
• Pathology

Background:

• Pathology knowledge is crucial for healthcare and research but lacks structured interdisciplinary training.
• This deficit hinders the understanding and application of translational pathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a pathology training course for basic and translational scientists.
• To address the educational gap in fundamental pathology for diverse research professionals.

Main Methods:

• A 6-month, self-paced, online certificate course with 24 modules was delivered via CANVAS.
• The course focused on disease pathology, clinicopathologic correlations, and molecular/translational pathology.
• Participant knowledge and course effectiveness were assessed through pre- and post-course surveys.

Main Results:

• 29 participants from varied backgrounds completed the course, with 76% having no prior pathology training.
• 100% completed module knowledge checks, and 89% agreed modules met learning objectives.
• 94% enriched their pathology understanding, 79% applied learnings, and 94% reported long-term confidence benefits.

Conclusions:

• The asynchronous online format effectively delivered valuable pathology content to diverse scientists.
• This pilot establishes a scalable model for technology-enabled pathology training in research settings.