Presented at the 1998 APIII Conference                        Return to 1998 Abstract Index

State University of New York Health Science Center
Brooklyn, New York
T. Strzelecki2
A. Nelson2
E. Clarin2,3
E. Zevallos4
J. Gu1, V. Anderson2,3

1 University of South Alabama, Mobile
2 SUNY Health Science Center Brooklyn
3 Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, N.Y
4 Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York

In a continuous effort to expand our research and education in computer-assisted teaching of pathology in our department, we have developed an interactive Macintosh application that is accessible via classroom or campus Intranet. The application includes clinical presentation, laboratory data and autopsy findings in a case-based format that challenges the student's capability to understand clinico-pathologic correlations. The computer application integrates a brief comment, relevant image with a set of questions geared to deliver a teaching message which expands the student's basic knowledge and clinical decision making. The intent is to visualize the pathogenesis of a specific disease state by comparing and contrasting the morphologic appearance of a lesion at the gross, microscopic, and ultrastructural level. The student's response to each question is typed in free text and verified by the application. At present, we do not identify the student or record their test results.

The application was developed using HyperCard from Apple Computer Corporation. At SUNY Brooklyn, this application is available via the campus network. It has the form of a shell which imports text and image files. This facilitates corrections and enhancement of the study cases. The performance capability and intuitive characteristics of the study designs provide a gestalt on disease processes to medical students and physicians.