What you will do:

You will work directly with a physician who is a board-certified dermatopathologist. This physician is a distinguished educator, mentor, and leader, and holds a faculty appointment at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School as Clinical Professor. The attending is involved in the education of residents at multiple medical schools, including UT Southwestern, Baylor College of Medicine, and McGovern Medical School, among others.

This is a high-volume practice that evaluates hundreds of biopsy specimens per day. You will evaluate slides prepared from biopsy specimens in patients with a wide variety of diseases with the attending physician using a multi-headed microscope. Periodically, the professor will point out key features and stop to discuss interesting or unusual findings. The goals of the rotation are to initially recognize the normal histology of the skin and develop confidence in naming and identifying the structures of the skin, including the layers that make up the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis, the different cell types, and skin appendages.

With time, instruction, and independent reading and review, you will gain experience in differentiating normal from abnormal, developing differential diagnoses, and interpreting slides in the context of the patient's clinical presentation. Rotators will also learn how dermatopathologists use the full suite of diagnostic tools to make diagnoses, including morphology, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and molecular techniques.

The professor has developed an extensive series of lectures and videos that students can use as self-study materials during the rotation to solidify the learning that comes from the numerous cases encountered on a daily basis.

Rotators may have the opportunity to attend academic lectures and meetings such as Grand Rounds at UT Southwestern Medical School.

This physician is very much involved in clinical research. So, for the motivated IMG, there may be opportunities to get involved. Please note that the availability of such experiences will be at the discretion of the attending. Rotators with an interest in research should discuss this with the attending early in the rotation.