A New Generation of Pathologists: Addressing Modern Curriculum and Educational Scholarship for Pathology Educators and Trainees After the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Context.—: The COVID-19 pandemic irreversibly altered the pathology education landscape. It exacerbated workforce shortages, restricted in-person activities, and highlighted critical means in curricula evaluation to limit the expansion of medical knowledge gaps in postpandemic society. Training enacted swift changes toward online learning (e-learning) practices to minimize potential deficiencies in pathology education. Today, a breadth of widely available online pathology curricular tools, including e-learning and digital pathology, are increasingly being used by medical students, trainees, and pathologists worldwide.

Objective.—: To critically address the continued role of e-learning and digital pathology in postpandemic pathology education and scholarship, as a current paucity of literature exists and lingering workflow effects of this pandemic affecting many anatomic and clinical pathology departments globally persist.

Data sources.—: A qualitative review of relevant literature is synthesized to create a timely, narrative discussion to bridge this literature gap. Peer-reviewed sources and other original or primary documents will be assessed.

Conclusions.—: Because of the subjective nature of curricular development and defining what constitutes scholarship, no widely established consensus is present, though it has been touched on in previous literature. It may be years until we better understand how e-learning and digital pathology shape curricular practices, scholarship production, and patient-care delivery, though recent studies support sustained blended curricula beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The education landscape continues to become increasingly digitalized, and infrastructures may soon be able to support complete digital pathology practice as the education norm. Future and theoretical insight for pathology and laboratory departments globally are provided.