The fellowship in pediatric pathology is a one-year postgraduate course for trainees who have graduated from a general pathology residency, are Board eligible in AP or AP/CP, and wish to pursue a career in academic pediatric pathology.
This program is designed to give participants guided and supervised exposure to the practice of hospital-based pediatric pathology in all its facets. Broad exposure to the surgical and autopsy pathology of childhood and the developing years forms the basis for the program. The aim is that the graduate will be familiar enough with current practices to function as an independent practitioner in pediatric patient care. The graduate should understand the elements of managing a pediatric pathology laboratory, and be familiar with quality assurance practices, and should have chosen an avenue of scholarly inquiry that will lead to a career of investigation.
All areas of the Department are accessible to trainees 24 hours a day. For educational purposes the trainees are provide with desks, storage space, new Olympus microscopes and personal computers in a residents' room that holds 4 people.
A large "sign-out" room has a 10 headed microscope for instruction, particularly at the morning conference and a 4 headed microscope. Personal computers with on-line Medline and Web access are present in this room, together with video and projection facilities for preparing conferences. The Departmental library is housed in this room, as are the study sets.
Each staff person has a double-headed Olympus microscope for sign-out with the trainees. A fluorescent microscope and photomicroscope are in an adjacent room for the use of trainees.
A working "conference" room houses much of the Heart Museum and has a dissecting microscope, and video and photographic equipment for specimen documentation.
Photocopiers, printers and scanners are present in the Department for trainees' use. Secretarial help with manuscript preparation is offered. A Medical Media Department of the Hospital provides same day development facilities, and graphic and poster production services.
Access to the Histology Laboratory, Immunohistology, in-situ hybridization and electron microscopy is available for in-house projects. Major projects and animal work can be done through the shared resource laboratory of the Department of Pathology, School of Medicine.
Follow the link to learn more about the responsibilities of the Pediatric Pathology Fellow.
Formal evaluations of the fellow's strengths, weaknesses and professional growth are provided to the Director of the program semi-annually. These are summarized, discussed at a staff meeting, and discussed forthwith with the trainee as a plan of action for the next half-year. Records of the evaluations are kept in the files of the trainees, and a summary of the Director's meeting with the trainee is added to the file. The file is accessible only to authorized individuals and to the trainee. A written final evaluation of the graduate is prepared at the time of completion of training, and comments on the trainee's ability to practice independently, with competence. This forms the basis for letters of recommendation and is kept in the trainee's file.
Follow this link to apply to the Pediatric Pathology Clinical Fellowship Program.
Qian Wang, MD, PhD
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
One Children's Hospital Drive
4401 Penn Avenue
Dept. of Pathology, B254
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Office Telephone: (412) 692-3446
Fax: 412-692-6550
Email Address: wangq7@upmc.edu