Resident Rotations

Rotations consist of one, two, or three-month blocks evenly divided between the Anatomic and Clinical Pathology areas. Most rotations occur at the Creighton University Medical Center. Approximately three months per year are spent at the Omaha Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Sometimes, in the 3rd year, the resident will spend a month on Pediatric Pathology at Children's Hospital, a month at the Nebraska Forensic Institute, a month at the Red Cross Blood Center, and a month at the Cytogenetics Laboratory at the University of Nebraska.

The Clinical Pathology rotations include rotations in hematology, blood bank, clinical chemistry, and microbiology. Initially, time is spent on the bench learning the principles of instrumentation and procedures, sources of error, quality control, and the handling of daily problems. One month of the Blood Bank rotation is spent at the Midwest Regional Red Cross Blood Center. Emphasis is placed on new procedure evaluation and implementation. Principles of laboratory management are specifically addressed in a series of lectures and a dedicated rotation.

Each day the resident reviews interesting cases, problems, and the principles of procedures with the attending staff. Clinical Pathology conferences are held twice a week reviewing different areas of Clinical Pathology along with daily morning rounds discussing on-call problems and interesting cases.

The Department of Pathology seminars and Journal Clubs are held twice a month. Participation and attendance at departmental conferences is expected, and also encouraged for the many different clinical department conferences.

The Anatomic Pathology core rotations include 12 months of autopsy and surgical pathology at Creighton University Medical Center with six months of the 12 rotation months at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and three months devoted to the study of cytopathology. Electron microscopy, immunopathology, and neuropathology are integrated into the rotations. One month is dedicated to Forensic Pathology in Lincoln, NE.  Specific anatomic pathology electives may be included after completion of the core rotations.

The Autopsy rotation is integrated among all rotations and is designed so that one staff person and the resident are responsible for performing and signing out each autopsy. At the monthly gross autopsy conference, autopsies are reviewed and discussed. On the surgical pathology rotation, the resident is assigned alternating days of the surgical pathology workload, which includes performing and interpreting frozen sections and grossing the specimens. The following day the resident interprets the slides and reviews them with the assigned staff pathologist.

Interesting cases are reviewed daily in the quality assurance (QA) conference and weekly in the Surgical Pathology conference. Other conferences include neuropathology brain cutting, dermatopathology, grand rounds, slide sessions, and cytology teleconferences. Additional time is spent instructing the resident in photography of gross microscopic surgical specimens for presentation at the many clinical conferences. The resident is expected to present and discuss the pathology of the cases presented at the various clinical conferences.

Research facilities as well as ongoing staff research projects are available, and residents are strongly encouraged to participate. Residents are expected to be the first author of at least one paper during their residency.

Anatomic Pathology Surgical Pathology Autopsy Cytopathology Electron microscopy Forensic pathology Immunopathology Pediatric pathology Electives

Clinical Pathology Blood banking/transfusion medicine Chemical pathology Cytogenics Flow cytometry Hematopathology Microbiology Molecular pathology Laboratory management and information systems Electives

 

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