Goals & Objectives
The primary objective of the cytopathology fellowship is to educate a pathologist to become a competent cytopathologist for an academic center or a private practice setting, capable of effective communication with clinical colleagues, self-motivated and diligent in continuing education and clinical research.
The program has four major goals:
Provide the fellow with the scientific knowledge, technical skills and administrative experience necessary to practice cytopathology. We believe that cytology and surgical pathology represent the same entities with different presentations and that effective efforts should be made to bring them together. Ancillary studies and new technology should not be limited to surgical pathology and should be actively applied to cytology specimens.
Allow fellows to integrate their medical knowledge with the cytomorphology and to proceed in a logical fashion to obtain the optimal diagnostic information from the cytology specimen. Prompt, clear and relevant oral and written communication is stressed as necessary for the appropriate care of the patients. The use of ancillary studies such as microbiology, electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry and cell image analysis as adjuncts to the cytolic diagnosis is heavily emphasized in our program. The use of cytologic specimen for prognostic testing is strongly encouraged and is currently practiced at our institution.
Development of investigational skills. The cytology fellow is encouraged to participate in ongoing research projects in cytology and prepare interesting case reports with reviews of the literature. Our Tumor Analysis Laboratory, with its unique mission in providing special diagnostic and prognostic testing, is a stimulating atmosphere designed for clinically oriented research projects.
Development of teaching and presentation skills. The cytopathology fellow will be scheduled to review interesting cytology cases with pathology residents and students in the School of Cytotechnology at least twice a month utilizing direct examination of the case(s) under microscopic review or formal lectures. There is also a monthly presentation for Journal Club in the Department of Pathology attended by faculty and residents. A weekly Tumor Board Interdisciplinary Conference will often include cytology cases which the cytopathology fellow will present. Any research projects completed or near completion shall be presented to department faculty and residents.