Department of Pathology University College of Medical Sciences, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095, India.
Natl Med J India. 2021 Sep-Oct;34(5):293-297. doi: 10.25259/NMJI_451_19.
Background The first-year pathology postgraduates can take a long time to learn the basic skills of microscopy, which can become a barrier to learning. Methods A WhatsApp group comprising all 14 postgraduate first-year students with one senior resident and one faculty as group administrators was formed. For the study, 50 routine cases (35 histopathology cases and 15 cytopathology cases) captured by using a smartphone camera and annotated using image-editing software, along with relevant descriptions and weblinks, were sent to the WhatsApp group. A pre- and post-test comprising 15 cases each was conducted and the results were compared by non-parametric Wilcoxon rank test. A feedback form about the effectiveness of this method of learning was circulated at the end of the study. Results The results of the post-test were better than the pre-test by the non-parametric Wilcoxon rank test. Both the active participants (>10 posts) and passive participants of the study group showed statistically significant improvement in the scores and posted a similar number of intellectually thought-provoking posts. The students' responses to the questionnaire also indicated that they liked the new method of instruction. Conclusion This pilot study shows that smartphone-based learning methods can supplant the traditional methods of teaching for pathology postgraduates.
背景 第一年的病理学研究生需要花费很长时间来学习显微镜的基本技能，这可能成为学习的障碍。
方法 建立了一个由 14 名第一年研究生、1 名高级住院医师和 1 名教师组成的 WhatsApp 小组。在这项研究中，使用智能手机摄像头拍摄了 50 个常规病例（35 个组织病理学病例和 15 个细胞学病例），并用图像编辑软件进行注释，并附有相关描述和网络链接，然后将这些内容发送到 WhatsApp 小组。进行了预测试和后测试，每个测试包含 15 个病例，并通过非参数 Wilcoxon 秩检验比较结果。在研究结束时，还分发了一份关于这种学习方法有效性的反馈表。
结果 后测试的结果优于非参数 Wilcoxon 秩检验的前测试。研究小组的积极参与者（>10 个帖子）和被动参与者的分数都有统计学意义上的提高，并且发布了类似数量的富有启发性的帖子。学生对问卷的反馈也表明他们喜欢这种新的教学方法。
结论 这项初步研究表明，基于智能手机的学习方法可以替代病理学研究生的传统教学方法。
