Our goal for the Pathology Residency program is to develop pathologists and laboratory directors with superior technical competence, clinical acumen, and intellectual depth. We instill core competencies in our residents, as defined by the American Board of Pathology and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or ACGME. Your responsibilities will increase over time as your knowledge and skills increase and you need less supervision.
Core Competencies
We will evaluate you periodically throughout the year in each of the core competencies. The competencies are:
Patient Care
You will develop diagnostic competence and the ability to provide appropriate and effective consultation in the context of pathology services. Skills include:
- Conducting effective communication with patients and families
- Gathering essential and accurate information about the patient from all available sources
- Making informed decisions based on current scientific evidence and clinical judgment
- Using information technology to support patient care decisions and education of patients and health care workers
- Competently performing all technical and invasive procedures essential for the practice of pathology
- Developing appropriate diagnoses or differential diagnoses
- Working with other health care professionals to provide patient-focused care
Medical Knowledge
You will learn about established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and cognate (epidemiological and social-behavioral) sciences and apply this knowledge to patient care. This includes:
- Demonstrating an investigative and analytic approach to problems
- Appropriately consulting in complicated problems
- Gaining familiarity with the pathology literature
- Acquiring a sound knowledge of laboratory management including implementation of all applicable safety regulations and sound management
- Serving as an effective consultant to clinicians
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
You will investigate, evaluate, and improve your laboratory and medical practice and medical knowledge. This involves:
- Participating in quality assurance and quality improvement procedures
- Appraising and assimilating evidence from scientific studies
- Applying knowledge of study design and statistical methods to the appraisal of clinical and pathologic studies
- Using information technology to manage information and to support continuing education activities
- Facilitating learning of medical students and other health care professionals
- Being receptive to new ideas
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
You will demonstrate skills that enable you to have effective conversations with patients, patients’ families, and professional associates. This includes being able to:
- Express ideas and positions clearly, both orally and in writing
- Ensure that reports are complete and up to date
- Maintain thorough and accurate records
- Be objective, frank, and concise
- Listen effectively
- Work well with other members of the health care team
- Provide clearly defined orders and administrative directives
Professionalism
You will demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adhering to ethical principles, and being sensitive to diverse patient populations. You will:
- Act efficiently and thoroughly
- Be prompt and well-prepared for conferences and teaching assignments
- Assume delegated responsibility
- Demonstrate stability in critical situations
- Show respect, compassion, and integrity
- Act responsively to the needs of patients and society
- Be committed to excellence and on-going professional development
Systems-Based Practice
You will demonstrate awareness of the role of pathology in large medical systems and public health. You will be able to:
- Call on system resources to provide the most appropriate pathology services
- Understand how to work with other health care professionals, health care organizations, and the larger society
- Demonstrate knowledge of different types of health care delivery systems including federal, state, and local laboratory regulations, billing, and compliance issues
- Practice cost-effective health care and resource allocation without compromising quality
Faculty evaluate residents in each of the six core competencies both formally and informally. If we note an area of difficulty, you will be informed in a timely manner, with the goal of remediation of the difficulty. The program director, associate program director, and chair (if necessary) will counsel, resolve, and follow-up on any such issues.
Clinical Rotations
You will perform a series of clinical rotations to gain knowledge and experience in pathology. We expect that you will develop expertise and take on increasing responsibilities (including analyzing data, initiating case-based studies, managing the services, and interacting with clinicians). Attending pathologists and senior management implement a curriculum, which defines the educational goals of the rotation and provides guidance for training technical aspects of the laboratory’s operation, management, and quality control. You will learn laboratory management, statistical techniques for managing data, pathogenic mechanisms, and clinico-pathologic correlation. You will attend a variety of didactic conferences, autopsy conferences, and clinical pathology conferences.