The pathology curriculum in US medical schools. 1986 survey by the Association of Pathology Chairmen.

Responses to questionnaires on teaching pathology to medical students from 71.6% of US medical schools indicate the following: (1) average class size continues to decrease; (2) in very few schools is instruction entirely interdisciplinary; (3) use of small-group teaching has increased slightly since 1982; (4) average curriculum time remains 250 hours per year; (5) clinical pathology instruction is frequently integrated with systemic pathology (mean time allocation, 40 hours per year); (6) lecture and study of gross and microscopic specimens remain mainstays of instruction; (7) honors/pass/fail grading systems are used by 54.7% of respondents (none use class rank); (8) multiple-choice examinations are a major method of evaluation; (9) graduates seeking post-medical degree training in pathology range from 0% to 6% of each class (mean, 2.13%); and (10) problems most often encountered are that there are too many students per class, and that students are unprepared for pathology.