Human pathology
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized comparison of virtual microscopy and traditional glass microscopy in diagnostic accuracy among dermatology and pathology residents.
Virtual microscopy is being used in medical schools to teach histology and pathology. It is also being used in resident education, in-training examinations (dermatology), and certification examinations (pathology). There are, however, few studies comparing its diagnostic accuracy and acceptability compared with traditional glass slides. ⋯ The order of administration of virtual versus glass slides did not affect the percentage of questions answered correctly. Most residents supported the use of virtual microscopy as a learning aid, whereas fewer favored its use in testing (79% versus 44%, respectively). Residents performed similarly in making dermatologic diagnoses using virtual slides compared with glass slides despite the residents' preference for the latter.