Department of Pathology

Goals and Objectives
Pathology Residency Training Program

Introduction

I. The overall goals of this residency program are the preparation of pathology for:

1. Practice of Pathology
2. Passage of the American Board of Pathology Examination
3. Acceptance into a Fellowship of the resident’s choice
4. Lifelong learning in pathology

In order to reach these goals three sets of responsibilities must be carried out. They are those of the institution (Graduate School of Medicine/ University of Tennessee Medical Center), the faculty, and the resident.

II. Each separate rotational outline is prefaced by a set of quantitative objectives, specific to that particular rotation, and aligned with the six ACGME goals. These are thoroughly presented in the Resident Manual, which all residents are presented with at the start of the program.

A. Graduate School of Medicine

The Pathology Residency Program operates under the authority and control of the Graduate School of Medicine. The Graduate Medical Education Committee (GME) monitors all aspects of residency education, has oversight with program directors, reviews all ACGME letters of accreditation, conducts regular internal reviews, assures that each program has polices for the selection, evaluation, etc., residents, assures that the residents learn in a non-threatening environment, ensure adequate funding of the various programs, monitors the work environment of the programs and assures that each program has in place an evaluation system that ensures that residents demonstrate the six ACGME competencies (pate care, medical knowledge, etc.).

 

B. Faculty

1. Assists residents in development of educational objectives.
2. Evaluate each resident’s progress on a periodic basis.
3. Delegate to each resident gradually increasing levels of responsibility, based on the resident’s experience and progress in the training program.
4. Provide an opportunity for participation in research by interested residents.
5. Participate on a regular basis in conferences that are intended primarily for the education of Pathology residents.
6. Nurture an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and professionalism.
7. Foster an attitude of lifelong learning and communicate this to the resident.

C. Residents and Fellows

1. Perform and complete the assigned clinical duties and services
2. Read extensively about the diseases encountered.
3. Develop the skills required to become a consultant to clinical associates.
4. Gain experience in the skills required for problem solving and for interpretation of data.
5. Gain experience in laboratory management and informatics.
6. Attain acceptable competence, as demonstrated by departmental evaluations, in the six ACGME competencies.
   a. Patient care
   b. Medical knowledge
   c. Practice based learning and improvement
   d. Interpersonal and communication skills
   e. Professionalism
   f. Systems-based practice

The tasks and responsibilities of Anatomic or Clinical Pathologists fall into three broad categories:

1. Contributing to diagnosis and prognosis in patient care by interpretation of the effects of disease on patient tissues and other specimens.
2. Developing new knowledge about disease, either through astute observation and analysis of data obtained in the course of patient care, or through the use of controlled experiments.
3. Teaching students, residents, physicians or other allied health personnel about disease and about the use of the laboratory in patient care.

A career in Pathology is rarely equally balanced among these three tasks, but it is equally rarely limited to one task or subtask. It is clear that the professional skills of the pathologist are best learned by doing each specific job of the profession. Thus, the objective of this residency in Pathology is to provide opportunity for each resident to gain personal, participatory experience in the various skills that Pathologists use to achieve their professional expertise, and to become competent in the practice of anatomic and/or clinical pathology. To that end, the program is designed to provide:

1. A setting that is conducive to self-study and learning-by-doing.
2. Experience in a variety of skills necessary to obtain diagnostic and prognostic information from patient samples.
3. Guidance in developing the skills of critical and analytic thinking necessary for proper interpretation of patient or research data.
4. Instruction and experience in the interpretation of laboratory data as part of patient care decision making and patient care consultation.
5. Experience in the management and direction of a pathology laboratory (including quality assurance, safety, regulations, and the use of hospital and laboratory information systems).
6. Guidance in perfecting the skills of communicating information about disease, both oral and written.

Resident Responsibilities

To achieve these objectives the resident and attending staff must work together harmoniously with mutually understood expectations and commitments. In general the resident is expected to:

1. Enthusiastically perform and complete the assigned clinical duties and services.
2. Read extensively about the diseases encountered.
3. Acquire understanding and experience with the technical and mechanical aspects of the laboratory.
4. Develop the skills required to communicate information about Pathology.
5. Gain experience in the skills required for problem solving and for interpretation of data.
6. Gain experience in laboratory management, and informatics.
7. Assume a role in the education of colleagues, medical students, and allied health professionals.

Faculty Responsibilities

Likewise, members of the faculty of the Department of Pathology are expected to:

1. Help each resident develop educational objectives.
2. Objectively evaluate each resident's progress on a periodic basis, and to communicate the results of those evaluations to each resident on a timely basis.
3. Delegate to each resident gradually increasing levels of responsibility, based on the resident's experience and progress in the training program.
4. Communicate to residents their enthusiasm for their own area of practice and research and to provide an opportunity for participation in research by interested residents.
5. Participate on a regular basis in conferences that are intended primarily for the education of Pathology residents.
6. Nurture an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and professionalism.

The particular requirements for pathologists in academic and private practice will continue to change, often in unpredictable fashions, so the training program must be flexible with respect to content. However, the use of the scientific method for problem solving will remain central to this discipline.

Program Responsibilities

The goal of the residency training program in pathology is to train physicians competent in the practice of pathology. To achieve this, the program follows the mandate of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project for competency-based education and training. Residents will be evaluated during their training in the six general competencies as defined by the ACGME. In general terms, the six general competencies are:

1. Patient Care: residents must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective; and, is able to work effectively with other health care professionals.
2. Medical Knowledge: residents must be able to demonstrate the application of knowledge to patient care and to pathology, as well as an investigatory and analytic thinking approach to clinical and pathological situations.
3. Practice-Based Learning and Improvement: residents must be able to investigate and evaluate their diagnostic and consulting practices, appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and improve their patient care practices; apply knowledge of study design and statistical methods; use information technology; and, facilitate the learning of students and other health care professionals.
4. Interpersonal and Communication Skills: residents must be able to demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication skills.
5. Professionalism: residents must demonstrate a commitment of carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to a diverse patient population.
6. Systems-Based Practice: residents must demonstrate an awareness of the larger context and system of health care, understand how pathology services and professional practices affect other health care professionals and organizations, and understand principles underlying cost-effective health care and resource allocation.