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503 A Closer Look at Pathology Education in Osteopathic Medical Schools: Data from 2021 to 2024

Journal: Laboratory Investigation Date: 2025/03, 105(S3):Pages: 102732. doi: Subito , type of study: retrospective study

Full text    (https://www.laboratoryinvestigation.org/article/S0023-6837(24)02410-3/fulltext)

Keywords:

faculty [37]
medical schools [188]
osteopathic medicine [2015]
pathology [15]
retrospective study [312]
USA [1630]

Abstract:

Background: The 2020 transition to a unified GME accreditation and match system has simplified the path to pathology for osteopathic medical students (DOs). However, DOs still face limited opportunities to explore pathology due to lack of guidance from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). Few pathologists on faculty and lack of pathology departments and electives results in insufficient pathology exposure. This study is the first to assess the national landscape of pathology education across accredited COMs. Design: In July 2024, a list of all fully-accredited United-States based COMs was collected from the COCA website. Data regarding class size, pathology pre-clerkship and clerkship curriculum, availability of pathology electives, pathology placement per class from 2021-2024, and faculty and leadership pathologists was gathered from each program's website. This was compared to data from the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) regarding the number of pathology positions filled by DO applicants. Results: 65 fully-accredited COMs were identified. 18 “additional locations” (ALs) were identified and will be excluded as indicated. 47 of the 65 programs were specified as parent or branch campuses with distinct curriculum. The average class size was 169 students. Pathology Deans were noted in 12% of all COMs. 25% of COMs (excluding ALs) had a Pathology Department, none of which were associated with an ACGME accredited pathology residency program. 60% of COMs (excluding ALs) offered pre-clerkship electives. Of these, only 7.1% offered a pathology elective. 37% of COMs had a pathology student interest group. The average number of faculty pathologists per COM was 1.49 (range: 0-4). 28% of COMs (excluding ALs) had an outlined curriculum for elective pathology clerkships. The exact number of affiliated hospital sites offering pathology electives was not publicly available. The average percentage of each class that matched into pathology from 2021 to 2024 was 1.06% (range: 0-3.6%), excluding programs whose inaugural class has not graduated, with an increase in percentage of pathology positions filled by DOs from 9.8% to 16.7% per the NRMP. [Formula presented] [Formula presented] [Formula presented] Conclusions: The data suggests that DOs lack pathology exposure and have few opportunities to engage with pathology during all phases of medical education. Future studies should aim to standardize the quality and quantity of pathology exposure at COMs to fill educational gaps.


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