An integrated teaching model combining PBL and medical humanities education for pathology laboratory teaching: a randomized controlled study

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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the educational effectiveness of an integrated teaching model combining problem-based learning (PBL) and medical humanities education for pathology laboratory teaching. METHODS: This randomized controlled study was conducted from September 2025 to January 2026 among undergraduate anesthesiology students enrolled in a pathology laboratory course at Wannan Medical University. Four classes were randomly assigned at the class level to either the experimental group, which received the integrated PBL and medical humanities teaching model (n = 56), or the control group, which received a traditional LBL teaching model (n = 59). Following the instructional intervention, theoretical examination scores, microscopic image interpretation scores, questionnaire-based teaching effectiveness outcomes, and overall student satisfaction were compared between groups. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant improvements in theoretical examination scores after the intervention compared with baseline (both P < 0.001). After adjustment for class-level clustering using linear mixed-effects models, no significant between-group difference was observed in post-intervention theoretical examination scores (P = 0.122), while microscopic image interpretation scores showed a borderline between-group difference favoring the experimental group (P = 0.061). Compared with the control group, students in the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores in learning motivation, self-directed learning ability, and communication and expression skills (all P < 0.05). Teamwork ability showed a borderline between-group difference (P = 0.058), whereas differences in professional ethics awareness and understanding of healthcare-related social responsibility were not statistically significant. Overall teaching satisfaction was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Compared with traditional LBL teaching, the integrated teaching model combining PBL and medical humanities education was associated with more favorable questionnaire-based outcomes in learning motivation, self-directed learning ability, and communication and expression skills, as well as higher student satisfaction. This integrated instructional approach may provide a useful reference for the ongoing reform and improvement of pathology laboratory education.