Perception of First Year Medical Students towards a New Histology Module in a Medical College in Eastern India: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction: The post-COVID (Coronavirus) era, the transition of our country towards a competency-based curriculum, and our fundamental goal to improve students’ learning experience and academic performance expedite the need to introduce new strategies to the existing teaching-learning method based on principles of medical education in the form of a structured module. Among all subdivisions of anatomy, this is especially relevant for histology because microscopic anatomy poses a basic difficulty associated with the comprehension of microscopic details of human tissues through the novice, untrained eyes of the freshly-admitted first-year medical students. Aim: To study the perception of first year medical students towards the new histology teaching module. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted among 85 first year medical students of Medical College, Kolkata, from May 2022 to October 2022, on histology teaching methods, comparing new histology modules versus traditional histology methods. A student survey was conducted to study their perception regarding the difficulties faced by them during their first-semester histology practical examination. After conducting a literature search, a new learner-centered histology module was designed and implemented among students to address these difficulties. Forty-eight histology sessions were conducted using the new module over a total duration of six months. Students’ feedback regarding the new module was recorded at the end of the sixth month. The collected data was analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software version 22.0 (trial version). Results: A total of 84 (98.8%) of students strongly agreed that because of the preliminary self-study time followed by discussions, quizzes, and brainstorming during the histology sessions, they had an improved understanding of the assigned learning areas. Additionally, 81 (95.3%) of students strongly agreed that their drawing skills of histology diagrams had improved due to drawing practice during the sessions. Furthermore, 83 (97.6%) of students reported an improvement in focusing and correctly identifying slides. Moreover, 82 (96.4%) of students felt that the regular formative assessments and immediate feedback improved their readiness for histology examinations. All of them agreed to the continued practice of the new module in future histology sessions. Conclusion: The students’ response towards the module was found to be positive. Addressing the students’ recommendations in the future would increase the chances of generating more support for it and enhancing their motivation towards improved academic performance in histology examinations.