Commonly Asked Questions
1. How busy are you on surgical pathology rotations?
CUMC has approximately 11,000 surgical pathology specimens per year, with two residents on the service any given month. The VAMC has about 4,000 surgical specimens per year with one resident on the service. Although, this is the busiest service, resident responsibilities are not onerous. Residents are assigned enough specimens to keep them busy but late nights are rare, especially in the later years when resident proficiency increases.
2. How does the call schedule work?
- Residents take call from home a week at a time.
- Junior residents typically have approximately seven weeks of call per year and the most senior residents typically have four weeks of call per year.
- Call involves handling any clinical or anatomical pathology questions which arise during off hours.
- There is usually an average of one phone call per 24-hour period.
- Residents on call gross specimens on Saturday mornings for specimens received during off hours. No grossing is required on Sundays.
- Residents on call perform any autopsies which arrive over the weekend. This can include Sunday autopsies .
3. What are the parking arrangements for residents?
Residents have free covered parking located next to Creighton University Medical Center.
4. What are some strengths of the program?
- Wide breadth of anatomical and clinical pathology .
- Small program size with one on one resident-staff interaction.
- Each resident given personal laptop computer to use during residency.
- Encouragement of research activity.
- Involvement of interdepartmental conferences.
- Balanced work load with time for study.
- Each resident has opportunity to perform at least 50 autopsies during the program.
- Extensive bone marrow biopsy experience.
5. Are your graduates securing fellowships or jobs?
All our graduates in recent years have either obtained fellowships or private practice academic positions before graduation.
6. How much vacation do residents receive per year?
Residents are allotted four weeks of vacation per year, usually with one week of vacation taken per quarter.
7.What kinds of living arrangements are available in the Omaha area?
Some residents choose apartment living, which is generally very affordable and convenient. Others decide to purchase homes within the area. Since the cost of living is relatively low in the area, home ownership is well within reach for most residents. During the last several years, roughly half the residents have rented, with the other half purchasing homes.
8. Has the sponsoring institution implemented procedures
regarding academic discipline and resident complaints or grievances?
- Resident complaints and grievances are addressed within the department
at regular meetings with the program director. Academic discipline
is considered on an "ad hoc" with the Program Director
and residency advisory Committee and according to Creighton Housestaff
policies.
- Creighton University has policies regarding academic discipline
and resident complaints as set forth by the ACGME, which are currently
outlined in the Housestaff Contract and the Housestaff Handbook.
