Curriculum
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Clinical training
Frozen section/resection laboratory
Surgical Pathology fellows are expected to assist the pathology assistants with selection of frozen section tissue in challenging cases. You will review the rest of the case the following day when permanent sections are processed and sign the case out after slides and special stains, if applicable, are reviewed.
Biopsy service
As a Surgical Pathology fellow, you will act as an attending physician and receive a portion of the daily biopsy workload. These biopsies include specimens from gastroenterology, gynecology, urology, pulmonology, hepatology, transplant services, and more. You are expected to review the relevant clinical history and the slides and render a diagnosis. The cases are reviewed with an attending pathologist.
Outside consult service
You will review cases, along with the relevant clinical information, and render a diagnosis. The cases are reviewed with an attending pathologist. These cases vary in specialty and can be biopsies or surgical cases.
All digital slide preview and sign-out opportunities
In addition to the traditional sign-out and physical slide review, fellows will have the unique experience of a digital slide preview and digital sign-out, as well as digital slide presentation during departmental conferences.
Rotation schedule
Surgical Pathology Fellowship rotations are divided into monthly blocks comprising integrated daily sign out of resection, biopsy, and frozen section cases with additional casework including review of outside material.
Research
A number of surgical pathologists are involved in research projects in various specialty areas at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. You are expected to participate in research projects or, if you prefer, can write a peer-reviewed article or poster for publication.
Electives
There are several surgical pathologists with specialty training at the Jacksonville campus of Mayo Clinic. You are encouraged to select specialty areas to enhance during this elective time. Cases are reviewed with an attending pathologist.
Available areas of focus include:
- Breast
- Cytopathology
- Dermatopathology
- Gastrointestinal
- Gynecologic
- Head and neck
- Hematopathology
- Hepatobiliary
- Neuropathology
- Pulmonary
- Renal
- Transplant
- Urologic
Call frequency
No call is required for this program.
Research training
The wealth of surgical pathology material at Mayo Clinic offers abundant opportunities for research projects. Mayo Clinic researchers collaborate with large active clinical and research groups in several subspecialty areas.
As a fellow, you are required to invest time in research and professional articles. When assigned to research, you:
- Present research findings at interdepartmental and interdisciplinary conferences
- Contribute to the education of medical students, residents, and other health care providers
Didactic training
You are expected to attend several conferences related to general surgical pathology. They include a breast multidisciplinary conference, a liver multidisciplinary conference, a tumor board, a hematopathology conference, and a sarcoma conference.
You are encouraged to attend the resident core curriculum lecture series. Delivered once a month, the series covers a range of topics in anatomic pathology.
As a fellow, you also have access to an evolving teaching file that contains glass slides demonstrating the entire spectrum of neoplastic and non-neoplastic pathological diseases.
Conferences
You will participate in intra- and interdepartmental conferences, as well as several subspecialty conferences.
Teaching opportunities
You will be involved in several interdisciplinary conferences and will be expected to educate the other medical subspecialties on topics of discussion.
Evaluation
To confirm that you acquire adequate knowledge and develop the appropriate technical skills to meet program expectations, performance is monitored carefully throughout the Surgical Pathology Fellowship. You are evaluated formally by core faculty members at the end of each rotation and meet with the program director to review these evaluations. In addition, you evaluate the faculty to ensure that your educational goals are being met.