Flexner 2.0-Longitudinal Study of Student Participation in a Campus-Wide General Pathology Course for Graduate Students at The University of Arizona.

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Margaret M. Briehl, University of Arizona; Mark A. Nelson, University of Arizona; Elizabeth Krupinski, Emory University; Kristine A. Erps, University of Arizona; Michael J. Holcomb, University of Arizona; John B. Weinstein, Bard High School Early College; Ronald S. Weinstein, University of Arizona
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-01
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2016
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2374289516680217
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Academic Pathology
• ISSN: 2374-2895
• Volume: 3
• Start Page: 2374289516680217
• End Page: 2374289516680217
• Grant/Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for a graduate teaching assistant was provided by a Center of Excellence grant from Health Resources and Services Administration, D34HP24460 (F. Moreno, PI).
• Keywords: Flexner 1.0; STEM; Flexner Report; Flexner X.0; Flexner 3.0; Medical Science; Flexner 2.0
• Research Categories: Education, Curriculum and Instruction; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Faculty members from the Department of Pathology at The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson have offered a 4-credit course on enhanced general pathology for graduate students since 1996. The course is titled, "Mechanisms of Human Disease." Between 1997 and 2016, 270 graduate students completed Mechanisms of Human Disease. The students came from 21 programs of study. Analysis of Variance, using course grade as the dependent and degree, program, gender, and year (1997-2016) as independent variables, indicated that there was no significant difference in final grade (F = 0.112; P = .8856) as a function of degree (doctorate: mean = 89.60, standard deviation = 5.75; master's: mean = 89.34, standard deviation = 6.00; certificate program: mean = 88.64, standard deviation = 8.25), specific type of degree program (F = 2.066, P = .1316; life sciences: mean = 89.95, standard deviation = 6.40; pharmaceutical sciences: mean = 90.71, standard deviation = 4.57; physical sciences: mean = 87.79, standard deviation = 5.17), or as a function of gender (F = 2.96, P = .0865; males: mean = 88.09, standard deviation = 8.36; females: mean = 89.58, standard deviation = 5.82). Students in the physical and life sciences performed equally well. Mechanisms of Human Disease is a popular course that provides students enrolled in a variety of graduate programs with a medical school-based course on mechanisms of diseases. The addition of 2 new medically oriented Master of Science degree programs has nearly tripled enrollment. This graduate level course also potentially expands the interdisciplinary diversity of participants in our interprofessional education and collaborative practice exercises.