Development, Implementation, and Assessment of an Innovative Kidney Pathology Curriculum

Background: 33% of nephrology fellows indicated an interest in additional pathology education on a 2016 education needs assessment performed by ASN. Fellows at our institution expressed this interest despite scoring higher than the national median on the 2023 In-Training Exam pathology section. WhatsApp®, a free messaging application for mobile devices, has been shown to be an effective educational tool. We designed and implemented a WhatsApp®-based pathology curriculum and hypothesized that it would be well-received and increase confidence in pathology skills. Methods: A pre-survey of 18 questions was administered to nephrology fellows prior to initiation of the WhatsApp® curriculum. It included questions addressing the quality of their perception of pathology education, interest in supplemental education, confidence in the subject, and brief knowledge assessment.17 nephrology fellows at Mount Sinai Hospital were invited to join a WhatsApp® group. The chat was designed to be used only for pathology education. Once the curriculum began, the peer educator presented a pathology image weekly, followed by a multiple-choice question (MCQ). Participants submitted answers to the MCQ via an anonymous online submission form. On Friday of each week, a comprehensive slide was shared with pathology educational content which included the answer to the MCQ. A post-survey was sent to all nephrology fellows after the 24-week curriculum. Results: 5/17 responded to the pre-survey (29%), of which all were senior fellows. All expressed an interest in additional pathology education. On average, 13/14 fellows read the content, and 5/14 submitted MCQ questions weekly. 36% responded to the post-survey. All respondents strongly agreed that content was relevant. All respondents strongly agreed/agreed that WhatsApp® was an effective learning platform and reported higher confidence in pathology skills. The mean rating of the program was 8.2/10. All respondents answered that they would recommend the curriculum to other fellows. Conclusion: Nephrology fellows want more pathology education and are not confident in their pathology skills. A supplemental pathology course is feasible utilizing WhatsApp®. Nephrology fellows rated WhatsApp® as an effective medium for kidney pathology education, report high satisfaction with its curriculum, and report higher confidence in pathology because of the curriculum.