Fatma Alzahraa A. Elkhamisy
Assistant Professor of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Egypt
Biggest challenge in pathology? Working as an anatomic pathology educator, mostly with undergraduates, I see that one of the challenges students face is understanding the relevance of pathology to the clinical aspects of diseases and patients. In many medical schools, most pathology curricula are still being taught during the preclinical years, which causes this gap, lessening students' motivation to learn it and perceiving it as a theoretical science, in contrast to pathology's true essence.
These challenges reduce the number of students considering pathology a specialty after graduation. That is why my work in the field is to find educational solutions that bridge this gap and connect the bases of diseases to their clinical application, engaging students in their learning. Countries with limited resources face a higher level of challenge in achieving these goals, with the increasing numbers of enrolled students in medical schools and the limited resources, including the number of pathology educator staff. Medical schools in these countries invest more extensive and exhaustive efforts to create an interactive, relevant pathology learning environment for their students.
Controversial opinion? In the field of pathology education, I have an unconventional dream. I envision creating a 3D live museum with large human-sized models for histopathology, in which the diseased organs and the abnormal tissues with their layers stand tall in that museum, like monuments. Students take their tour inside the large 3D tissue models, discover them, and finally transform their imagination of the 2D pictures and slides we use in our teaching into on-ground reality. Hopefully, one day, I will be able to achieve my dream.
Inspiring leader? In the anatomic pathology field at my institution, I have always been inspired by the leadership qualities of the Associate Professor of Pathology, Hebat Allah A. Amin. As one of the "leaders in the shadows,"she knows how to align people around an ambitious vision, redistribute, and use the limited resources available for the greater good. She thinks outside the box and faces challenges. Her leadership qualities always inspire me to advance my work and become an influential member of the pathology field. I would like to acknowledge her efforts in the teaching field and also in the diagnostic one.
