The case correlation assignment: connecting antemortem and postmortem data in the senior year at Iowa State University.

Instructors of the senior necropsy rotation at Iowa State University experienced difficulty ensuring similarity of case exposure and workload during the year. This was problematic during times of low caseload, as, without necropsy cases, there was no uniform method for training or assessing students. A new assignment, the Case Correlation Assignment (CCA), was created in order to improve the educational rigor and consistency of the rotation, increase utilization of necropsy cases as teaching material, and provide students more opportunities to correlate clinical pathology data with lesions. The CCA provides an opportunity for senior students to present and explain the antemortem and postmortem findings from an ISU-VTH patient in case report format. This illustrated report is submitted via WebCT. Students receive feedback on WebCT through a scoring rubric and written comments from the instructor. Since 2002, approximately 420 students have completed this assignment. The average score on the assignment over the four-year period is 94.7%. Despite complaints about the hard work required, students generally report that writing the CCA is a valuable learning experience. The CCA allows for greater utilization of necropsy cases and the incorporation of clinical pathology into necropsy cases. Currently, the CCA is used in a peer-assessment assignment in the junior pathology course and has been incorporated into case-based teaching courses. The CCA has been revised and expanded over the past four years in response to student feedback and to the discovery of new ways to utilize the completed assignments as teaching material.