Pros and Cons of Real Versus Virtual Microscopy in Teaching and Learning Histology and Pathology
Robert
Ogilvie and Paul Heidger
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, and University of Iowa,
USA
The
participants in this breakout session will be led in a discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages of optical microscopy and glass slides versus
Virtual Microscopy and Virtual Slides in the teaching of histology and
pathology. The possible impact of
Virtual Microscopy on the involvement of faculty in medical education will also
be a topic of discussion.
The
microscopic image is an important tool in medical education, particularly in
the areas of histology, hematology and pathology. Since the introduction of microscopic
information into medical teaching at the beginning of the 19th
century, there has been a continuous evolution in the manner in which
microscopic images have been presented to medical students. The advent of inexpensive microcomputers and the
Internet have greatly expanded the options for presenting image-based
information. The most recent advance in
computer-aided instructional tools as applied to microscopic images is referred
to as Virtual Microscopy and is challenging the long term dominance of the
light microscope and glass slides in the laboratory instruction of histology
and pathology. The advent of Virtual
Microscopy comes at a time when laboratory instruction in medical school is
already on the decline and medical education is competing for faculty resources
with the research and clinical service missions of academic medical
centers.
What
are the conditions in medical education that make Virtual Microscopy and
Virtual Slides (or for that matter other forms of computer-aided instruction as
it relates to microscopic images) attractive and what are some of the likely
reasons for embracing this new technology?
How does a Histology or Pathology program, at this time, decide whether
to use 1) real microscopes and slides, or 2) virtual microscopy and slides, or
3) a blend of both? The organizer of this breakout session also organized one
of the first Symposia on Virtual Slides in Teaching Research and Diagnosis,
November 2002 held in Charleston, South Carolina USA where over 100 persons
attended. A similar discussion occurred
during this symposium. The
discussion in the breakout session will be facilitated by providing a list of
pros and cons of virtual versus real microscopy that was generated as a result
of the discussion during this symposium.
BENEFIT TO
PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
This
breakout session will benefit participants by providing for them a forum to
discuss the import and challenges of implementing virtual microscopy as a
curricular resource in the teaching of histology and pathology.
Robert
W. Ogilvie, Ph.D.
Professor,
Department of Cell Biology & Anatomy
Medical
University of South Carolina
171
Ashley Avenue
Charleston,
SC, 29425 USA
Phone: 843-792-2667
Szu-Hee Lee, MBBChir, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath, FRCPA
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology &
Senior Haematologist, Division of Haematology
IMVS
PO Box 14
Rundle Mall
ADELAIDE
SA 5000, Australia
Tel: 08 8222 3917
Fax: 08 8222 3162