Flexner 2.0-Longitudinal Study of Student Participation in a Campus-Wide General Pathology Course for Graduate Students at The University of Arizona.

ABSTRACT

Faculty members from the Department of Pathology at The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson have offered a 4-credit course on enhanced general pathology for graduate students since 1996. The course is titled, "Mechanisms of Human Disease." Between 1997 and 2016, 270 graduate students completed Mechanisms of Human Disease. The students came from 21 programs of study. Analysis of Variance, using course grade as the dependent and degree, program, gender, and year (1997-2016) as independent variables, indicated that there was no significant difference in final grade (F = 0.112; P = .8856) as a function of degree (doctorate mean = 89.60, standard deviation = 5.75; master's mean = 89.34, standard deviation = 6.00; certificate program mean = 88.64, standard deviation = 8.25), specific type of degree program (F = 2.066, P = .1316; life sciences mean = 89.95, standard deviation = 6.40; pharmaceutical sciences mean = 90.71, standard deviation = 4.57; physical sciences mean = 87.79, standard deviation = 5.17), or as a function of gender (F = 2.96, P = .0865; males mean = 88.09, standard deviation = 8.36; females mean = 89.58, standard deviation = 5.82). Students in the physical and life sciences performed equally well. Mechanisms of Human Disease is a popular course that provides students enrolled in a variety of graduate programs with a medical school-based course on mechanisms of diseases. The addition of 2 new medically oriented Master of Science degree programs has nearly tripled enrollment. This graduate level course also potentially expands the interdisciplinary diversity of participants in our interprofessional education and collaborative practice exercises.