Student perception of the pathology discipline in medical education

Abstract

The discipline of pathology concerns the study of cellular and functional alterations of tissues and organs in response to the various diseases encompassed by multiple medical fields, making it a broad and extensive area of study. Among the possible learning methodologies applied to this discipline, the problem-based learning (PBL) method uses triggering clinical cases to stimulate students’ questions, which are subsequently investigated individually and discussed collectively under the supervision of a tutor. The objective of this study was therefore to analyze the PBL method and its implications for teaching pathology. This article is an experience report developed by medical students in their final year of training at a medical school in the state of Rio de Janeiro, who had already completed the pathology courses included in the curriculum. In this report, the students compared the strengths and limitations of studying pathology through this active learning method over a two-year period, also taking into account the nuances introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic in its application. It was observed that learning pathology through PBL enabled a better understanding and retention of content, greater ease in relating pathological processes to anatomopathological findings, and improved skills for studying and discussing cases during clinical practice, thereby contributing to the development of a scientifically grounded future medical practice. The implementation of the PBL methodology is pertinent to the study of pathology, yielding positive outcomes and contributing to medical education.