The goal of the surgical pathology rotation is to develop skills in all areas of surgical pathology to become competent in the gross and microscopic evaluation of these specimens. We have subspecialty sign-out and the residents spend a week at a time on the various specialties to ensure continuous exposure to each subspecialty. During the 13 blocks allocated to this rotation residents are given graduated responsibilities as appropriate for their level of expertise. The last surgical pathology rotation is an advanced rotation where the residents serve as acting fellows.
Resident Responsibilities
There is a four-day sign-out schedule which includes performing frozen sections, grossing, and two days of slide review and report generation. This allows the residents to follow their cases from start to finish.
The resident on FS duty usually covers from 7 am to 5 pm, when the duty switches to the resident on call. The resident handling OR specimens begins at 7:30 am and handles all cases that arrive from the previous day's surgeries.
Emphasis exists on residents previewing slides, and as the residents advance, their skills at microscopic evaluation are expected to increase. Early in training the residents will review cases with the attending pathologist as soon as the slides are available. By the third year, residents should be writing up cases completely. FS sign-out is also expected to progress with training. An attending pathologist is always available for consultation.
Rotation Highlights
- Large volume of interesting cases spanning all aspects of surgical pathology
- Graduated responsibility
- Participation in a variety of tumor boards throughout residency