The Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona blends clinical training with ongoing seminars and research.

Clinical training

The Division of Anatomic Pathology is a busy, high-volume surgical pathology practice. The core of the training is clinical in nature.

The clinical rotations occur mainly at Mayo Clinic's campus in Scottsdale, Arizona, though the fellow will have the opportunity to spend time at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, for elective rotations.

The fellow — due to the breadth and volume of cases — will be exposed to all areas of GI/liver pathology. This occurs through review of in-house specimens and consultation cases received in our large referral practice.

Interactions between radiologists and GI/liver pathologists allow the fellow to gain extensive experience in radiologic-pathologic correlation for both neoplastic and non-neoplastic GI/liver disease. Our gastroenterology colleagues will also be a rich source of information for clinical correlation with pathology specimens.

The fellow’s responsibility is gradually increased over the training period, such that by the end of the fellowship, the fellow is responsible for the initial case work-up and final conversations with in-house or referring pathologists and clinicians.

The curriculum allows for electives and opportunities to explore diverse areas of pathology that may complement GI/liver pathology or fulfill the needs of a future job or practice. Therefore, fellows can rotate in areas such as frozen section service, cytopathology, molecular pathology, and bone and soft tissue pathology.

Rotations

The curriculum is divided into 13 four-week blocks, which include:

• Nine blocks dedicated to gastrointestinal and liver service
• One block for frozen section
• Three elective blocks

As a fellow, you will review the cases on your own before signing out with the consultants and are responsible for a variable number of in-house GI and liver specimens each day. The fellow is also responsible for a variable number of consultation cases each day. There are three additional blocks that are electives, in which a fellow can choose from many different areas of pathology to complement knowledge in gastrointestinal and liver pathology, prepare for a future job, do research, or complete more GI/liver rotations. We allow for flexibility to tailor training to your career goals. Rotations at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester would also be available.

Research training

The wealth of surgical pathology material at Mayo Clinic offers limitless opportunities for research projects. The fellowship also collaborates with large, active clinical groups in gastroenterology, hepatology, abdominal transplant surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and gastrointestinal oncology.

Fellows are strongly encouraged to present their work at national meetings, such as the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) and Digestive Disease Week (DDW). Fellows are expected to complete at least one research project with submission for publication at the end of the year before exiting the fellowship training.

Conferences

As part of this program, you are expected to present material at a variety of pathology and clinical conferences periodically, including the monthly education conference in GI and liver.

Teaching opportunities

You will teach clinical gastroenterology fellows rotating on the GI and liver pathology service. Additional opportunities exist based on your interest in education.

Evaluation

To ensure that you acquire adequate knowledge and develop the appropriate technical skills to meet program expectations, your performance is monitored carefully during the Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology Fellowship. You are formally evaluated by supervising faculty members regularly and meet with the program director to review these evaluations. In addition, you regularly evaluate the faculty to confirm that your educational needs are being met.