Inpatient US Clinical Experience in Pathology in Houston

Information about this clinical experience:

You will work with several physicians who are board-certified pathologists. Collectively, they have decades of experience in pathology and have completed fellowships in breast pathology, cytopathology, dermatopathology, and surgical pathology. The group services hospitals in several counties in Texas, including Jackson, Karnes, and Victoria counties.

You will be based at one of these hospitals located approximately 120 miles from Houston. Upon your arrival for the day’s activities, you will start by spending time in the clinical pathology department to understand the handling of specimens, workflow, and processes in hematology, microbiology, and chemistry. Rotators will see how patient samples are analyzed and results are communicated to clinicians to guide diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of disease.

At approximately 11 AM, you will join the pathologist for sign-out or the pathology assistant for grossing. Although grossing is done on site, the histology is performed at another facility. Therefore, sign-out will be digital. Digital pathology allows for the capture, management, and interpretation of pathology information from a digitized glass slide. As digital pathology is gaining a foothold in pathology, this will be an excellent opportunity to see how this technology is improving efficiency, enhancing productivity, and optimizing treatment decisions and patient care.

Exposure to grossing is an important part of this experience and is highly valued by pathology residency programs. Through this process, residents are able to visually assess the specimen for such characteristics as size, shape, color, and consistency, select appropriate tissue sections for microscopic examination, and properly prepare the tissue to allow for accurate interpretation. Time spent with the pathology assistant will serve as an excellent introduction to grossing.

On Wednesday mornings, rotators will be able to observe frozen sections of the skin. This experience will allow the learner to gain an understanding the frozen section process, its role in ascertaining malignancy-free margins, and the way in which results are communicated to clinicians in a timely manner.