DETAIL INFORMATION
A fellowship in cytopathology is an extension of the educational mission of the Department of Pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is supported by strong and diverse resources. This includes abundance of excellent in-house and referred clinical material; established clinical programs in related areas such as hematology/medical oncology, radiation oncology and bone marrow transplantation; close affiliation with the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Community Memorial Hospital, and the Zablocki VA Medical Center (VAMC); a firm commitment from the department chairman; and faculty of board-certified cytopathologists (see faculty list).
The goal of cytopathology fellowship program at MCW is to provide comprehensive practical experience in cytopathology and related expertise leading to special competence in various cytopathology techniques and diagnostic excellence.
The structure of the program is based on the strong interaction between surgical pathology and cytopathology with the advantage of an established infrastructure.Along with Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital (FMLH), VAMC is also participating in the training program.
One year program consists of extensive exposure to gynecologic cytopathology, and non gynecologic cytopathology, along with performance and interpretation of FNAB cytology.Trainees will be participating in numerous interdepartmental and intradepartmental conferences with residents of the MCW AP/CP residency program.The trainees will have didactic instructions in various topics in cytopathology.The initial month will be focused on screening, followed by emphasis on interpretation and diagnosis of gynecologic cytopathology.Additional training is given in non-gynecologiccytopathology, with a gradual increase in responsibilities, including acting as consultants to the residents/medical students rotating in cytopathology, to the cytotechnologists, and to the referring physicians with support from attending cytopathologists.
The fellows will be trained in performing FNABs on palpable lesions in outpatients and inpatients at FMLH/MCW.As a routine, all image-guided FNABs will be attended by trainees along with a cytotechnologist for adequacy evaluation and initial interpretation for triage of material for special studies if indicated under the guidance of the attending cytopathologist.
Strong emphasis will be given to the correlation of the cytopathology diagnosis with the surgical pathology diagnosis, which would be one of the strong points of the program due to close interaction of the two divisions, with most of the attending pathologists having service and teaching responsibilities in both the areas.
As a final goal, the trainees will work-up the case incorporating all the necessary data with reference to the clinical history and special studies, to be signed out with the attending cytopathologist.The results of various special studies like radiology, flow cytometry, molecular pathology, immunocytochemistry, electron microscopy etc., will be compiled, interpreted, and applied for the final cytopathology interpretation under the guidance of the attending cytopathologist.
In addition, a short rotation of three weeks, encouraging a research project leading to publication, will be tailored to intensify exposure in any areas like hematopathology, cytochemistry, electron microscopy or other areas, as desired by the trainee.Trainee will have three weeks of vacation.The fellowship training program is funded by the Department of Pathology, MCW.