Digital Histology Interest Group or DHIG

I have two topics that may be of interest to our group.  Maybe some will want to post thoughts about these and maybe they will be topics we will share ideas about in Boston next week at EB2015.

First, I would like to share briefly my experience with a special one year Certificate Program implemented several years ago at the Medical University of South Caroline.  The program is available to students who failed to be admitted to medical school and it is designed to improve the chance of acceptance upon reapplying.  In the online histology course that I have been managing and directing since Spring 2011, I have had 8 - 10 students in my online histology class for the past three summers who are enrolled in the certificate program at the Medical University of South Carolina. They take my histology course as their first course in the year long program.  During the year they take gross anatomy and biochemistry with the dental students and receive special tutoring to prepare to re-take the MCAT.   Until this year, the program has been advertised as a Certificate Program.  Now, MUSC has converted the program to a master's program that is called a Master of Science in Medical Sciences. According to Dr. Cynthia Wright at MUSC, there are many such programs nationally advertised on the AAMC website.  The course I teach is offered by the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina.  Actually, USC has a Masters of Science in Medical Sciences and each semester I have one or two such students from there taking my course.  The website at the AAMC where faculty and students can search for these programs is:  https://services.aamc.org/postbac/   During course of my 40 years as a basic science faculty in three medical schools where I was the course director for histology, our Departments of Anatomy (now by any name you can imagine) had no such certificate program.  There were Masters of Anatomy programs in which students often enrolled for the express purpose of increasing their chances to be admitted to medical school upon re-application.

Second, I received a request from a student who took my histology online course two years ago and is now enrolled in a Masters Program at Barry University, http://search.aiprx.barry.edu/about/ .  The student is enrolled in their masters program to improve successful application to a dental school.  A copy of my course syllabus was requested by the student to share with the dean of that program to support a request to exempt a course in histology required in the Master's Curriculum.  In responding to the student and sending the syllabus I asked the student to share any reflection the experience in the histology course a couple years ago.  What was shared, in my view, is the most succinct and well put advice to share with students about how to approach the study of histology that I have seen.  Here is what he said:

"I took your Histology course in the spring or fall of 2013. I can't remember exactly when, but I do remember it being an eye opening experience. As a chemistry major I had taken some tough courses before, but they were analytical courses that required a strong understanding of fundamental principles, and a little bit of know-how in the math department to do well. Histology was the first course I took that was more difficult due to how much information rather than how difficult the information was to comprehend. Now as a graduate student those are the only courses I am taking. It takes more than brains to do well in these types of courses, it takes a certain level of commitment. The earlier a student learns that the better." 

Recently, after I received this, I was asked by one of the students currently enrolled in my course to write a letter supporting application to a one year Cytotechnology Program.  I was inspired by the statement by the student above to include in the letter this:

"Unlike courses in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, histology is not totally based upon formulas and logic.  While learning and applying certain concepts is important, learning histology requires discipline and self-motivation because there is a great deal of information to relate and associate.  These are skills that should prove to be advantageous in a program like Cytotechnology." 

Your comments are kindly invited and please share what you tell your students about how to approach learning histology.

Bob Ogilvie

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Robert W. Ogilvie, PhD
Visiting Professor, University of South Carolina
Professor Emeritus, Medical University of South Carolina
Columbia & Charleston, South Carolina
Cell Phone: (843) 693-1065
Email: rogilvie31@yahoo.com
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Hi Bob,

Our graduate school is starting a similar masters program that will be administered by our physiology department.

 With respect to learning histology, I think pattern recognition is an important concept.  I remember a few years ago someone gave a talk in one of the education platform sessions about using the example of "Where's Waldo" to explain pattern recognition.  I thought it was a good analogy.  Once students understand the patterns common to each basic tissue, they can easily recognized them when looking at a slide/photomicrograph of a section of an organ.  The analogy can also be applied to the histology of organs.  For example, the changes in the patterns of the tissue combinations as one looks at the various organs of the GI tract.  The patterns relate well to the function of the organs.

 I found it interesting that both the students that wrote to you found histology challenging when compared to what they felt were more analytical/logical disciplines of chemistry, math and physics.  I always felt there was a lot of logic to the way organs and tissues were put together when one considers the function.

See you in Boston,

Dave

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David Bolender
Associate Professor
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee WI
414-955-8474
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Hey, Dave,

Absolutely, pattern recognition is integral in the process of learning to distinguish and separate the wonderful world of histology!  Glad you mentioned that.  I shall look up and see how I can use "Where's Waldo".  Good to be reminded of that amazing series of children's books where not only are you looking for Waldo, but you are presented with quite familiar patterns like a park, a stadium, the seashore. etc. that we as adults, recognize immediately do to the pattern we see.  I am truly motivated to use this analogy with illustrations of histology patterns next to "Waldo's Patterns" at the beginning of next semester.

I do believe that the reason the student concluded that histology required more than 'brains' is that, as he stated, learning histology does take practice, or, as I tell my classes, there are three actions you should take to help improve your grade in histology and that is 1. Review, 2. Review. and 3.Review.  Reminds me of looking for a house to buy, sort of.....Location, Location and Location...........maybe not really.   I do tell me students that learning histology is like visiting a city or museum.  One visit and you will only retain very little.  It takes multiple visits to become so familiar with the city or museum that you could hover over it in a helicopter high up and tell anyone the details below.

I hope others will respond about ways to motivate and help students learn histology.  I know that there must be a great deal of experience in our group of around 500 members.

I am not certain how many Master's of Science or Masters of Anatomy programs there are but I have the sense they are coming back.  I do know that Lisa Lee is the Director of a Masters in Modern Anatomy program at the University of Colorado Medical School.  I am certain she will eventually comment on that.

See you in Boston,

Bob

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Robert W. Ogilvie, PhD
Visiting Professor, University of South Carolina
Professor Emeritus, Medical University of South Carolina
Columbia & Charleston, South Carolina
Cell Phone: (843) 693-1065
Email: rogilvie31@yahoo.com
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Hello Dave and Bob,

Thank you for sharing your wealth of experience as histology teachers with us. I have used the "Where is Waldo" analogy for several years now. It is validating that other people have/had the same idea independently. I remember the Waldo books from my daughters' youth, who like most of today's students had a few of these books. I use it in a special presentation I call "How to Learn Histology Smartly and Efficiently", which is specifically geared towards students struggling with histology and students, who just want to improve. Kids will look for the Waldo character by using a list of characteristics (he is a guy, specific types of clothing etc.) to find him in the confusing images. None of these characteristics is a unique and singly-identifying feature, but in combining and identifying several characteristics, Waldo can be found with 100% certainty. Similarly, I encourage students to compile a list of characteristics for tissues and cells when they extract the information from the lectures and laboratory introductions and to apply this list when they first identify these histological structures and later when they find new examples on their own in the virtual tissue slice.

For my last lecture at the end of last year's medical histology class I found an altered Waldo image glued to blackboard, whose face had a significant similarity to me. It now hangs framed in my office.

It is using examples like Waldo that will help us to build a connection with today's generation of students and to make the material more relevant for them.

I hope to see you at the educational session on Monday March 30^th at 2:30 pm in Room 102AB. The session is entitled "Didactic Methods in the Anatomical Sciences: How Does Technology Help or Hinder?" In this session my co-presenters and I want to explore how modern technology can be used successfully to teach anatomy and histology (and any other subject), but also point to potential pitfalls we need to consider when implementing these strategies.

All the best and see you in Boston.

Michael

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Michael Hortsch
Associate Professor
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor MI
734-647 2720
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