Building a Pathology Learning Community: a 12-month Qualitative Assessment of a Virtual Gross Rounds in Canada

ABSTRACT

Background: With COVID-19 restrictions remaining in place for the past year in Ontario, Canada, we have integrated weekly virtual gross rounds (VGR) as a part of regular post-graduate training since May 2020. We used Zoom (Zoom Video Communication, San Jose, CA USA) to livestream our rounds and maintained a steady attendance and interest. In addition to resident trainees, our VGR sessions are now attended by residents, staff, and pathologists' assistants (PA), PA students and medical laboratory technologists at community and academic institutions throughout Canada. We aimed to evaluate whether a virtual platform could maintain an engaging learning community in pathology. Specifically, we sought to identify the key elements and tools within a virtual format, as well as the attitudes of our learners, that were most conducive to virtual learning and building a pathology learning community for residents and PAs. Design: Surveys were sent to 237 registered participants of VGR at 12 months from the start of VGR. Residents and PA respondents were asked to rate their overall experience and rank the perceived effectiveness of VGR on pathology community building. In addition, survey participants ranked the least and most effective virtual engagement tools used during the sessions. Results: 78 participants completed the survey, a response rate of 33%. Both residents (n=21) and PAs (n=49) had an overall positive reception of VGR (average score 4.4/5) during this time. The tools which enhanced a sense of learning community were ranked from most to least useful (Table 1). Our participants identified the polls and chats as the most effective ways of engaging with each other. Most participants agreed or strongly agreed that VGR was effective at creating an online learning community as well as building interprofessional connections among residents and PAs (Figure 1 and 2). The availability of archived, edited, and interactive video recordings of the VGR sessions was identified as an important resource for learning. Conclusions: We report continued positive perception of virtual gross pathology learning among our residents and PA attendees. Specifically, we highlight the role of virtual learning in building a gross pathology learning community in Canada. We identified the ideal tools and techniques that are most helpful in engaging learners and sustaining an online community.