What are the best online pathology resources for medical students, residents, fellows, and practicing pathologists? We’re glad you asked! Here is a list of the top 11 online pathology learning resources in alphabetical order.
1. Elsevier ExpertPath
Elsevier ExpertPath is a paid subscription website that provides helpful information and resources for pathologists created by global experts. The benefit of this website over similar free versions is that they claim the information is kept rigorously up to date and all the pages are complete. This website is so well-liked that some residency programs pay for subscriptions for all their residents. Some medical students online stated that becoming extremely familiar with ExpertPath during their training made it an even more valuable asset in their practice. If your program will not buy it for you, ExpertPath offers a resident discount. The subscription includes
- 77,000 normal pathology example images selected and annotated by experts
- 5,200+ common and complex diagnoses
- Specimen handling protocols and best practices
- Normal histology topics
- Differential diagnosis lists help you determine what other diseases you should consider
- Ancillary testing lists
- Prognostic and therapeutic information
2. H&E Life
Cindy Wang is an Anatomical Pathologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology. She has a great YouTube channel called H&E Life. On this channel, she shares her experiences in medicine, what it is like to be a pathologist, and what it takes to become a pathologist. Her goal is to educate and inspire medical students. Her content includes upsides and downsides to pathology, insights on the pathology job market, tips for residency and fellowship, resources, diagnostic walkthroughs, salary expectations, and live question-and-answer sessions. There are many other helpful YouTube channels, but this is one of the best.
3. Jared Gardner MD
Jared Gardner is a dermatopathologist and the section head of bone/soft tissue pathology at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania. He shares tips, tricks, and general education about pathology on social media. Follow him to see digital slides, photomicrographs, explanations, walkthroughs, and sample pathology reports. He regularly encourages his followers to reach out to him with questions. Some of his most popular online endeavors are his YouTube channel, Twitter profile, and KiKo profile. Dr. Gardner shares his vast knowledge with others in easy-to-understand ways, making him popular online.
4. KiKo: Knowledge In, Knowledge Out
KiKo is a social platform for doctors, researchers, and other medical professionals. You can use this platform to gain clinical experience by seeing rare cases shared by colleagues, creating private study groups to share clinical pearls, collaborating with other professionals, connecting with other medical students and residents, and finding mentors. Some people share digital images of histology slides to ask for second opinions or perspectives. Many thought leaders in pathology also use KiKo, which means you can read their views on hot topics, like the role of artificial intelligence in digital pathology.
5. Kurt’s Notes
Kurt Schaberg is an anatomic pathologist at the University of California, Davis. He’s also the residency program director and cytology fellowship director. He created a website with a wide variety of helpful pathology learning resources. Here’s a list of what you can find on Kurt’s Notes website:
- Diagnostic reference guides for a range of conditions commonly encountered by anatomic pathologists
- Examples of diagnostic reporting and comments for a wide range of subspecialties
- Practice quizzes
- Helpful links to scanned slide collections, guides created by Stanford Pathology, interesting cases, board preparations, templates, and books and articles he uses in his practice and mentorships
6. Libre Pathology
Libre Pathology is an open wiki-based pathology knowledge resource. Michael Bonert, a staff anatomic pathologist, founded the project in 2014 to make pathology information accessible to every person with internet access. The site contains a collection of simulated cases, practice quizzes, general pathology educational information, and helpful links.
7. Path Elective
A great, learn-at-your-own-pace pathology resource is Path Elective. You can register online for free and take clinical, anatomic, and molecular pathology courses. By completing the different modules, you can earn certificates for your work but unfortunately not CME as of the time of this publishing. The modules include online resources, textbook references, review notes, and videos created by experienced professionals and master educators. The purpose of this website is to provide free, accessible learning resources for medical students, pathology residents or trainees, or even patients interested in learning more about diagnostic medicine. This interactive platform allows anyone to experience an organized pathology elective of their choice from anywhere on their own time. The founders believe that learning about pathology and laboratory medicine can benefit everyone. Through this elective, they aim to foster a community of learners and teachers who will help advance the field of pathology and medical education.
8. Pathology Outlines
Pathology Outlines is a free online surgical and clinical pathology textbook. No registration is required. The website has more than 4,500 organized topics regularly updated and peer-reviewed by pathologists. It also contains resources for the following topics
- Jobs
- Fellowships
- Conferences
- Continuing Medical Education credit
- Cases
9. Pathology Podcasts
There are many free, pathology-based podcasts available online. Some of our favorites include:
- The Pathology Grand Tour by The Pathologist
- Digital Pathology Today is hosted by Joseph Anderson, MD, a consultant to early-stage and mature companies in digital pathology and molecular diagnostics
- Beyond the Scope by the Digital Pathology Association
- PathPod is a pathology podcast for everyone
10. #PathTwitter
Pathology has a substantial presence on Twitter. Dozens of profiles share interesting histology slides, published research, guides for fellows and residents, and general educational content. Many new pathologists and medical students use it as a resource to find mentors, see unique cases and connect with their peers. One of the easiest ways to find these resources is to follow the hashtag #PathTwitter. The pathology community that uses this hashtag comprises people sharing cases and “tweetorials.”
11. WebPathology
WebPathology is a free educational resource with high-quality pathology images of benign and malignant neoplasms and related entities. The website has more than 11,500 images of surgical pathology, high-quality gross specimen photographs, and photomicrographs. In addition, each image discusses pertinent clinical and pathologic features. It also includes illustrations showing molecular pathways in various cancers, including sites of targeted intervention.
If there are any resources we have missed that you love to use, please share them in the comments below. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for regular digital pathology news. You can also visit our blog for more helpful top 10 lists and online pathology learning resources.
