Introduction:

The study of histology is essential for medical students in multiple ways. Knowing what a normal tissue looks like is important for recognizing different diseases. However, its learning is considered difficult due to molecular and microscopic scale. Different methodologies in medical education have been tested, such as deliberate practice (DP). DP is a kind of training aimed to increase performance through repetition and successive refinements.

Objective:

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of DP as a histology teaching intervention.

Method:

Medical students were randomly allocated into two groups: DP and games (attention control group). The training sessions took place weekly, over a period of 12 weeks. The skill trained was to locate structures on histological slides through the optical microscopy technique. Structures considered difficult to learn such as Sertoli cell, intercalated disc and dense macula were selected. At each session, ten slides from the same histological section were used (repetition), and the time available to locate the structure decreased until reaching the target value (increased difficulty). Students received feedback immediately. Performance evaluations were carried out by teachers who didn’t know the students’ group, evaluating time lapsed and behavioral items of the microscopy technique. A questionnaire was developed to investigate students’ perceptions.

Result:

Out of 71 students, two dropped out, remaining 35 participants in the DP group and 34 in the games group. The DP group performed better, both in locating structures on histological slides (score) (66.67) and the microscopy technique (10.83) against the games group (16.67 and 10.5 respectively). Among DP participants, 94% said they enjoyed participating, and 91% noticed improvement.

Conclusion:

DP was considered relevant for the study of histology by performance evaluations and students’ perceptions.

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