Medical Students
Medical student rotations in pathology offer invaluable exposure to a range of pathology subspecialties. They also provide both hands-on and didactic educational experiences. For medical students contemplating a career in pathology, enrolling in electives or the fourth-year Advanced Patient Care Selective prior to residency application is highly recommended. Pathology electives also provide significant benefits for medical students pursuing careers in surgery, obstetrics and gynecology (Ob-gyn), internal medicine, pediatrics, and many other areas of medicine.
Would you benefit from pathology student rotations? Select the specialty you’re interested in and find out!
There is overlap with immunology and hematopathology. Some immunological diseases such as Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome and autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) show up on peripheral smears and flow cytometry. An elective in clinical pathology is suggested for those interested in immunology who would like experience in consulting with pathology for the diagnosis of immunological diseases.
Did you know, McGovern Medical School anesthesia residents spend one month with us in their intern year? Residents rotate through hemotherapy where they learn management techniques and options for intra-operative bleeding, transfusion medicine where they learn indications for blood product transfusion, and coagulation where they learn to read thromboelastographs (TEGs) and other lab tests. This may not be offered at your anesthesia residency, so take advantage of an elective in clinical pathology!
Dermatologists may work extensively with pathologists or they may read their own biopsy slides if they complete a fellowship in dermatopathology. Dermatology residents spend a significant amount of time at the scope, regardless if they’re going to be dermatopathologists later or not. An elective in anatomic pathology is highly recommended for aspiring dermatologists/dermatopathologists, so come get a head start!
You may benefit from rotating through transfusion medicine where you can learn indications for blood product transfusion. And exposure to coagulation will show you how to approach a bleeding patient and order appropriate testing. An elective in clinical pathology can give you this valuable exposure.
You may do Pap smears or skin biopsies, and we can help you understand the language in which they are reported. A big part of pathology is understanding workflow, processing, and when is an appropriate time to set up a follow-up appointment to discuss patient results. In addition, exposure to hematopathology and coagulation will make you familiar with the indications for ordering certain laboratory tests, interpreting results, and appropriate next steps. An elective in either anatomic or clinical pathology is highly recommended for aspiring family medicine physicians!
You may do Pap smears or skin biopsies as an internal medicine physician, and we can help you understand the language in which they are reported. A big part of pathology is understanding our workflow, processing, and when is an appropriate time to set up a follow-up appointment to discuss patient results. In addition, exposure to hematopathology and coagulation will make you familiar with the indications for ordering certain laboratory tests, interpreting laboratory results, and proceeding with the next steps. An elective in either anatomic or clinical pathology is highly recommended for aspiring internal medicine physicians!
Some neurological conditions such as NMDA encephalitis, Guillain Barre, etc., will require you to consult apheresis/transfusion medicine. That’s us! We can help with therapeutic apheresis including plasma exchange, red blood cell exchange, photopheresis, etc. If you want to learn more about these treatment options, an elective in clinical pathology is recommended. On the other hand, an elective in anatomic pathology can provide exposure to neuropathology, which will allow to you learn about pathology impacting the central nervous system and help you in your future career.
You will perform Pap smears, biopsies, excisions, and resections, so it is important to know how those specimens are worked up and reported. Understanding placenta pathology is also valuable knowledge for you! A big part of pathology is understanding our workflow, processing, and appropriate timing for follow-up appointments to discuss pathology findings. An elective in anatomic pathology is highly recommended for those considering Ob-Gyn.
There may be times that you will have to biopsy or excise masses (amyloidosis, pterygium, marginal zone lymphoma, etc) on your patients so it may be nice to see how those lesions are worked up and reported. A big part of pathology is understanding our workflow, processing, and appropriate timing for follow-up appointments to discuss pathology results. An elective in anatomic pathology is recommended for students considering ophthalmology.
If you are considering a career in pathology or are still undecided and want to learn more about the possibilities in pathology, doing electives in anatomic and clinical pathology is recommended! For third year residents we also offer a 3 week elective which covers both anatomic and clinical pathology.
Are you set on pathology as a career? Excellent choice! We recommend you enroll in our fourth year APC course to get more in-depth exposure to pathology! We can’t wait to work with you!
You will order laboratory tests and may order or do biopsies, and we can help you understand the language in which they are reported. A big part of pathology is understanding our workflow, processing, and appropriate timing for follow-up appointments to discuss results. Also, a week or two in hematopathology and coagulation will make you familiar with indications for certain laboratory tests and interpreting laboratory results. In addition, there may be conditions requiring you to consult apheresis/transfusion medicine. That’s us! We can help with therapeutic apheresis including plasma exchange, red blood cell exchange and photopheresis. An elective in clinical or anatomic pathology is highly recommended for aspiring pediatricians!
Interventional radiology works extensively with pathology including cytology, hematopathology, and surgical pathology. Our job relies heavily on the ability of the interventional radiologist to take adequate biopsies for diagnosis and ancillary studies. Come join us on rapid on site evaluations (ROSE) and see how we interact with one another. An elective in anatomic pathology is a MUST for aspiring interventional radiologists! Still not convinced? Take this quiz.
You will interact with pathology at tumor boards and use pathology reports in your treatment of patients, so it is important for you to understand how we report pathologic findings. An elective in anatomic pathology is recommended for you!
Surgeons work extensively with pathologists and an elective in anatomic pathology is a MUST! Still not convinced? Take this quiz.
Urologists work extensively with pathologists so an elective in anatomic pathology is a MUST! A big part of pathology is understanding our workflow, processing, and appropriate timing of follow-up appointment to discuss pathology results.