Histology Retention in a Medical School Curriculum
Authors: Will Catherine , Edmondson Anna , Hryniuk Alexa 
Published: April 2020

Introduction

Poor retention of medical knowledge is a concern within medical education. While studies show that student retention from basic science disciplines often follows the “forgetting curve”, histology retention has not been examined independently of other anatomical sciences. Investigation of histology retention is of increasing importance as medical education moves towards integrated curricula with the use of technological advances in the classroom, such as virtual microscopy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate histology retention of first‐year students at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG).

Aims

The specific aims of this study include evaluating the relationships of 1) histology retention and academic performance 2) retention intervals (RI) to histology retention and 3) histology retention and students’ previous exposure to histology as well as their modality of study.

Methods

Academic performance data from histology quizzes and exams were collected from first‐year medical students at MCG from the Class of 2022 (n=171). A histology comprehensive assessment was administered at the end of the academic year to assess histology knowledge retained throughout first‐year histology curriculum. Students were also surveyed on their prior histology experience and study method modality. A linear regression analysis was performed to determine if there was a correlation between academic performance and retention. A comparison of means was used to assess the relationship between histology retention scores compared to academic performance in terms of RI, histology exposure, and modality of study. Paired sample t‐tests were used for analyses. IRB approval (exempt) was obtained from Augusta University.

Results

First‐year medical students at MCG were found to only retain 52.4% ± 17.0% of histology content on the end of year comprehensive assessment. Academic performance in histology did not predict retention at the end of the academic year (R=0.27). Student retention dropped on average from 84% to 52% regardless of RI length (2, 3, 5, or 6 months). No significant difference was found between students with prior histology exposure (85.9% ± 4.9%) and those without (84.2% ± 5.3%) on overall histology grade averages. However, those with prior histology experience did score significantly better on the comprehensive assessment (58.5% ± 15.3% vs. 51.2% ± 17.2%; p=0.04). No significant difference was seen on average histology grades (84.5% ± 4.2%, 84.2% ± 16.6%) or comprehensive assessment performance (52.9% ± 6.9%, 51.4% ± 17.8%) when study modalities (virtual microscopy vs physical slides) were compared.

Discussion and Conclusions

This data supports previously reported findings that medical students retain on average ~50% of their basic science knowledge. These findings also demonstrate that academic performance is not a predictor of retention. Furthermore, RI and method of study appear to have no significant impact on histology retention. However, prior histology experience appears to aid in retention and suggest that more testing/re‐exposure during the academic year could increase histology retention. These results may be useful in informing educators in medical education and help to guide reform for better retention outcomes from pre‐clinical medical curricula.