Transplant Pathology Objectives and Core Competencies

  1. Medical Knowledge
    1. General Clinical Transplantation Pathology
      • To develop the knowledge base needed to function as a Transplantation Pathologist.
      • To develop a comprehensive understanding of the principles of immunobiology as related to transplantation.
    2. Surgical Transplantation Pathology
      • Prepare for intra-operative consultations. Skills: Critically abstract pertinent information from the medical records, and explain procedures required for frozen section evaluation of resection and biopsy specimens. Assessment: Review of prepared medical summary.
      • Perform appropriate intra-operative consultations. Skills: Communicate with surgeon, prepare frozen sections, analyze microscopic findings and render correct diagnosis. Assessment: Review of each intra-operative consultation.
      • Perform appropriate grossing of transplantation surgical specimens. Skills: Review specimen requisitions, define any needed clinical information and submit specimen for appropriate studies. Assessment: Review of each surgical case at sign out.
      • Design and perform appropriate microscopic analysis. Skills: Review of each surgical case and corresponding gross images. Assessment: Review of each surgical case.
      • Design and prepare surgical transplantation report. Skills: Document gross and microscopic findings; create error free surgical pathology report to communicate to referring physician. Assessment: Review of case sign out.
    3. Research Transplantation Pathology
      • Develop comprehensive knowledge of basic science and clinical translational research as it relates to Transplantation Medicine. Skills: Read appropriate general scientific and specialty journals; identify scientific and clinical advances and issues pertinent for investigation. Assessment: Review of participation in clinical and scientific conferences and discussions
      • Design, propose, and perform investigation in area pertinent to transplantation pathology. Skills: Identify strengths and weaknesses of experimental design, gather appropriate data for investigation. Assessment: Weekly assessment of research progress.
      • Present and publish scientific investigation. Skills: Create platform and poster presentations, write scholarly scientific articles. Assessment: Assessment of presentations and manuscripts.
  2. Patient Care
    • Skills: Review surgical cases in preparation for signout. Assessment: Presentation at signout and QA conferences.
      Skills: Complete and thorough identification of gross and microscopic features. Assessment: Evaluation of gross images and draft surgical pathology reports.
  3. Interpersonal and Communication Skills
    • Deliver effective instruction for medical students. Skills: Read text books, backgrounds and prepare lectures, demonstrate anatomical and pathological findings. Assessment: Perusal of teaching evaluations.
    • Enhance training of resident. Skills: Constructively criticizes trainee diagnoses and presentations. Assessment: Evaluation of resident feedback
    • Communicate with clinicians. Skills: Effectively transmit pathology findings. Assessment: Feedback from clinicians.
    • Effectively communicate with technical personnel. Skills: Harmoniously works with pathology assistants and laboratory technologisits. Assessment: Signout and turnaround time.
  4. Professionalism
    • Develop effective relationship with allied professionals and ancillary staff. Skills: Fully integrate and contribute to health professional team, punctual attendance to patient care responsibilities, appropriately interact with staff, trainees and attendings, use appropriate professional judgment in performing duties in an ethical manner. Assessment: Attending observations on service with daily and monthly feedback.
    • Develop professional reputation. Skills: Actively participates in national and international conferences. Assessment: Review of published abstracts.
    • Recognize professional limitations and seek appropriate consultations with peers. Skills: seek advice of others on difficult cases, accept criticism and suggestions for improvement. Assessment: Review of daily performance during surgical pathology signout.
  5. Practice Based Learning / Improvement
    • Skills: Practice evidence based medicine. Assessment: Weekly QA and daily signout conferences.
  6. Systems-Based Practice
    • Skills: Interact with hospital-based services to timely and efficiently process cases. Assessment: Turnaround time analysis.
    • Skills: Perform detailed and complete grossing and microscopic dictation. Assessment: Daily sign out sessions.