PROSER: A Web-Based Peripheral Blood Smear Interpretation Support Tool Utilizing Electronic Health Record Data.

OBJECTIVES: Peripheral blood smear (PBS) interpretation represents a cornerstone of pathology practice and resident training but has remained largely static for decades. Here, we describe a novel PBS interpretation support tool. METHODS: In a mixed-methods quality improvement study, a web-based clinical decision support (CDS) tool to assist pathologists in PBS interpretation, PROSER, was deployed in an academic hospital over a 2-month period in 2022. PROSER interfaced with the hospital system's electronic health record and data warehouse to obtain and display relevant demographic, laboratory, and medication information for patients with pending PBS consults. PROSER used these data along with morphologic findings entered by the pathologist to draft a PBS interpretation using rule-based logic. We evaluated users' perceptions of PROSER with a Likert-type survey. RESULTS: PROSER displayed 46 laboratory values with corresponding reference ranges and abnormal flags, allowed for entry of 14 microscopy findings, and computed 2 calculations based on laboratory values; it composed automated PBS reports using a library of 92 prewritten phrases. Overall, PROSER was well received by residents. CONCLUSIONS: In this quality improvement study, we successfully deployed a web-based CDS tool for PBS interpretation. Future work is needed to quantitatively evaluate this intervention's effects on clinical outcomes and resident training.

The Student Curriculum Review Team: How we catalyze curricular changes through a student-centered approach.

Student feedback is a valuable asset in curriculum evaluation and improvement, but many institutions have faced challenges implementing it in a meaningful way. In this article, we report the rationale, process and impact of the Student Curriculum Review Team (SCRT), a student-led and faculty-supported organization at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. SCRT's evaluation of each pre-clinical course is composed of a comprehensive three-step process: a review of course evaluation data, a Town Hall Meeting and online survey to generate and assess potential solutions, and a thoughtful discussion with course directors. Over the past two years, SCRT has demonstrated the strength of its approach by playing a substantial role in improving medical education, as reported by students and faculty. Furthermore, SCRT's uniquely student-centered, collaborative model has strengthened relationships between students and faculty and is one that could be readily adapted to other medical schools or academic institutions.