Abbasi Fariba, Ayremlu Parvin, Niazkhani Zahra
Solid Tumor Research Center, Cellular and Molecular Medicine Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 Apr 7;25(1):490. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07001-4.
Pathology reports serve as the primary communication tool between pathologists and clinicians, directly influencing clinical decision-making and treatment strategies. Despite their critical role, medical students may struggle with interpreting these reports, which can lead to miscommunication and potential diagnostic errors. This study investigated the impact of incorporating a clinical pathology course into the routine medical curriculum to enhance medical students' understanding of pathology reports and their satisfaction with the course.
This cross-sectional study involved 92 medical students in their internship phase, who were divided into two groups: those who had completed the clinical pathology course and those who had not. The participants were provided with two pathology reports (covering malignant and benign gastrointestinal diseases) and a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 24 items. The data were analyzed via the chi-square test to assess significant differences between groups.
Medical interns who completed the course demonstrated significantly higher rates of moderate interpretation scores (80.43% vs. 63.04%) and lower rates of weak scores (6.53% vs. 32.61%) compared to those who did not participate (p = 0.001). Interns who passed the clinical pathology course had a significantly greater mean number of correct answers for interpreting malignant cases reports (p = 0.04), although no significant difference was found for benign cases reports (p = 0.93). Most interns who completed the course reported that it helped improve their interpretation skills, although some felt that the perceived benefits were limited. Additionally, the study identified key challenges students still faced when interpreting pathology reports including difficulties with pathology report terminology, understanding cancer staging abbreviations, and applying basic pathology concepts in clinical context.
Our findings suggest that clinical pathology courses can improve medical students' understanding of pathology reports, particularly in cases of cancer, but improvements in course content and teaching methods are needed. This research offers valuable insights into improving medical education.
病理报告是病理学家与临床医生之间的主要沟通工具，直接影响临床决策和治疗策略。尽管其作用至关重要，但医学生在解读这些报告时可能会遇到困难，这可能导致沟通不畅和潜在的诊断错误。本研究调查了将临床病理学课程纳入常规医学课程对提高医学生对病理报告的理解及其对该课程满意度的影响。
这项横断面研究涉及92名处于实习阶段的医学生，他们被分为两组：完成临床病理学课程的学生和未完成该课程的学生。为参与者提供了两份病理报告（涵盖恶性和良性胃肠道疾病）以及一份由24个项目组成的自填式问卷。通过卡方检验分析数据，以评估两组之间的显著差异。
与未参加课程的实习生相比，完成课程的医学实习生表现出中等解读分数的比例显著更高（80.43%对63.04%），而低分比例更低（6.53%对32.61%）（p = 0.001）。通过临床病理学课程的实习生在解读恶性病例报告时正确答案的平均数量显著更多（p = 0.04），尽管在良性病例报告中未发现显著差异（p = 0.93）。大多数完成课程的实习生报告称，该课程有助于提高他们的解读技能，尽管有些人认为所感受到的益处有限。此外，该研究还确定了学生在解读病理报告时仍然面临的关键挑战，包括病理报告术语方面的困难、理解癌症分期缩写以及在临床背景中应用基本病理学概念。
我们的研究结果表明，临床病理学课程可以提高医学生对病理报告的理解，尤其是在癌症病例中，但课程内容和教学方法仍需改进。这项研究为改善医学教育提供了有价值的见解。
