Because of the recent pandemic, new teaching methods have been trialed, even in traditional disciplines such as histopathology that typically involve extensive hands-on laboratory work. In this study, we investigated the effects of three different learning modalities in histopathology teaching: optical microscopy, in-class virtual microscopy (VM),…

Virtual escape rooms (ERs) require learners to solve puzzles and answer riddles while trying to "escape" a digital room. Although the educational merit of such gamified learning activities continues to be realized, guides on the development of ERs are lacking, as well as student perceptions on how, if, and where they should be integrated…

Cognitive science principles can facilitate integrating and retaining basic science concepts during the clinical years of undergraduate medical education. We hypothesized that reinforcing foundational science concepts during the core clerkship experiences fosters the development of clinical reasoning in medical students. A patient simulation…

Patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings of neuronal activity require a large amount of space and equipment. The technique is difficult to master and not conducive to demonstration to more than a few medical students. Therefore, neurophysiological education is mostly limited to classroom-based pedagogies such as lectures. However, the…

Integrating physiology core concepts into the clinical years of medical education has been challenging despite efforts. This article describes a fourth-year medical school elective, Advanced Physiology in Critical Care Medicine, that focused on integrating physiology core concepts in a case-based learning approach. The elective used…

The integrated mechanisms of heart contraction are some of the most complex processes for undergraduate biomedical students to understand. Visual models have the potential to enhance learning environments by providing visual representations of complex mechanisms. Despite their benefits, the use of visual models in undergraduate classrooms is still…

Over the years, much criticism against animal use for physiology teaching has been made. Hence, replacement by suitable alternatives has increased in several pedagogical approaches. This study examined students' perceptions of animal versus virtual (video/computer) laboratory classes in physiological sciences associated with the effectiveness of…

To reduce medication errors, medical educators must nurture the early development of rational and safe prescribing. Teaching pharmacology is challenging because it requires knowledge integration across disciplines, including physiology and pathology. Traditionally, pharmacology has been taught using lecture-based learning, which conveys consistent…

In the country presently, preclinical medical students are not routinely exposed to real patients. Thus, when they start clinical postings, they are found to have poor clinical reasoning skills. Simulated virtual patients (SVPs) can improve clinical skills without endangering real patients. This pilot study describes the development of two SVPs in…

Theory lectures are boring and sleep inducing for students, and it is difficult to get their full attention during 1 h of lecture. The ability of students to concentrate diminishes 20-25 min after the start of the lecture. There is also a lack of active participation of students during theory lectures. In an effort to break the monotony of the…

The demonstration of patient-based cases using automated technology [virtual patients (VPs)] has been available to health science educators for a number of decades. Despite the promise of VPs as an easily accessible and moldable platform, their widespread acceptance and integration into medical curricula have been slow. Here, the authors review…

Here, we report on a new tool for teaching cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology that promotes qualitative as well as quantitative thinking about time-dependent physiological phenomena. Quantification of steady and presteady-state (transient) cardiovascular phenomena is traditionally done by differential equations, but this is time…