Computer-based teaching of pathology at the Zagreb University School of Medicine

Aim. To review the experience gained in transferring USA computer-based tea ching system of medical school pathology to Croatia. Methods. Computer-based teaching program of pathology developed at the Univ ersity of Kansas School. of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas, USA, was transfe rred to the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia. The e xperimental group of 49 students was enrolled into this computer-based prog ram. Their performance was compared with that of 195 classmates enrolled in the standard course. Objective (performance on the examinations) and subje ctive data (students' interviews and written evaluations of the course) wer e analyzed. Results. The computer program was operational 5 months from the inception o f the transfer. It was well received by the students, even though many init ially complained that it required more effort and a continuous commitment. The major problems concerned scheduling, reflecting various requirements im posed on students by other departments teaching in parallel with the Pathol ogy course. Objective data gathered so far indicate that the students enrol led in the computer-based program took the first midterm examination at a s ignificantly higher rate than the rest of the class (p < 0.001), and passed the examination with significantly better grades (p < 0.001). Conclusion. Computer-based teaching programs can be readily transferred to other countries. Full implementation of the program, however, may require s ignificant changes in the existing curriculum in the medical school to whic h such a program has been transferred or considerable modifications in the program adopted for transfer. It appears that the students enrolled in the computer-based program perform better than students in the standard patholo gy course.