Introduction

The academic year AY2023-2024 marked a significant transition in our department's contributions to medical education. It was the final year of teaching Phase 2 students under the old MD2140 curriculum and the inaugural year for Phase 1 students under the new enhanced curriculum's MD1140 module - Foundation of Body Systems in Health and Diseases I. 

This new curriculum, focusing on a seamless integration of basic and clinical sciences, introduced updated pedagogical methods and aligned the medical education framework with the five pillars of the common healthcare curriculum. The MD2140 module - Body Systems in Health and Diseases II - follows in Phase 2.

Educational Goals

In the foundations of medical sciences package in Phase 1, the Pathology department aims to equip students with an understanding of cellular injury, inflammation, repair processes, and cancer's molecular basis. For the systems-based learning taking place during the rest of Phase 1 and Phase 2, the focus is on the aetiology, pathogenesis, and morphological characteristics of major diseases, integrating these concepts with clinical manifestations and the rudiments of disease prevention and intervention.

This Phase 1 and 2 curriculum serves as a solid medical science foundation for the medical students to continue with their clinical training during Phases 3-5.   

Teaching Methods

In AY2023-2024, the shift from traditional lectures to self-directed learning videos was fully implemented. Videos have been designed to be concise, with supplementary study notes and auto-captioning.

Face-to-face interactive learning remains a critical component, encompassing conventional Pathology tutorials, large group case-based teachings, and collaborative learning cases (CLCs).

Phase 1 and 2 Assessment

Assessments in both Phase 1 and 2 are integrated across multiple disciplines, with Pathology playing a key role. Continuous assessments and post-CLC MCQs contribute a sizeable proportion of the final marks, with the final exams making up the remainder.

The department also contributes faculty to the phase and standard-setting committees, ensuring rigorous and representative testing through MEQs and MCQs. The use of ExamSoft has streamlined the assessment process, enhancing accuracy and convenience, while reducing errors.

Introduction

Since AY2023, clinicopathological case conferences (CPCs) have been introduced within the campus-based teaching components of the Medicine, Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery clinical postings. Illustrative patient scenarios are selected and discussed with the students via an unfolding clinical case. Pathology and Radiology tutors join the corresponding clinical tutors to lead and moderate the discussion. Through these well-received sessions, the students get to experience how doctors in different specialty disciplines work together for patient management. 

Educational Goals

• Review the relevant aspects of medical sciences underpinning clinical practice
• Grasp the importance of clinical-radiological-pathological correlation in patient management
• Describe mechanisms of disease and relate these to disease manifestation and also forming a basis for therapeutic intervention.

Teaching Methods

These CPC sessions are co-facilitated by the respective clinician educator/ clinical faculty, Radiology and Pathology tutors. Covering the major syndromes in the syllabus topics, the students are brought through an unfolding clinical scenario, started off by the clinician, and bringing in the radiological and pathological aspects when the investigative aspects of the case are tackled.

Along the way, open-ended questions are posed to the medical students and they are encouraged to respond or to discuss with their classmates possible suggestions or solutions to the problem at hand. The are often required to activate their prior knowledge of mechanisms of disease or pathological patterns of disease, and to tie these up with the clinical and radiological aspects. 

Assessment

The students’ grasp of the relevant pathological aspects of the curriculum can be assessed via any of these:

• As part of end-of posting tests
• Theory aspects of the end-of-AY examinations – as MCQs or part of MEQs (vide supra)

In the short day-and-a-half with Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, students engage in case-based tutorials, focusing on practical utilization of laboratory services and accurate interpretation of reports. Tutors from the various related disciplines offer unique diagnostic perspectives. Tutorials build on prior knowledge and clinical experience. Collaborative sessions and interdisciplinary teaching (Pathologist-Radiology) foster correlative learning.