Curriculum/ Schedule

Resident Rotation Schedule

Resident rotations are designed to introduce residents to the full spectrum of Anatomic and Clinical subspecialties in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and enable acquisition of medical knowledge and patient care experience that will prepare residents to successfully pass the Pathology Board examinations, and for a successful career in a variety of practice settings. Electives allow residents the opportunity to evaluate subspecialties as potential career choices and gain added experience in areas of interest or need. In each of the rotations, residents are given increasing responsibilities commensurate with their level of training and competence.

Rotations and electives are spent at UC Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Hamilton County Coroner's Office, and the Hoxworth Blood Center. All facilities are within walking distance from UC Medical Center with the exception of the new Hamilton County Coroner's Office, which is located 13 miles north of UC Medical Center. Senior residents may elect to rotate in a community practice setting at West Chester Hospital, which is located 20 miles north of UC Medical Center.

The annual rotation schedule follows a block system consisting of 13 4-week blocks. Most rotations are 4 weeks in duration. Detailed information on each block can be found in the subspecialty tabs.

A 4-year training outline can be found below:

Educational Conferences

The program offers a number of educational conferences for our residents. Morning didactics are held from 8-9am Monday through Friday, with AP conferences on Mondays and Wednesdays, faculty lead CP conferences on Tuesdays, and resident lead DLM (CP) rounds on Thursdays. The AP and CP didactics run on a 2 year cycle with the goal of providing broad coverage of all subspecialty topics. Friday morning didactics include a rotating schedule of cytology lectures, resident lead autopsy conference, frozen unknowns, and gross unknowns. The last Wednesday of each month is reserved for resident wellness sessions.

Unknown Slide Sessions led by UC or affiliate faculty are held every Friday at noon. Residents are typically provided with slides to preview at least one week in advance.

Journal Clubs are held on the last Wednesday of each month, with each resident presenting one journal club per year. Journal club presentations allow residents the opportunity to critically review the literature, and to work closely with faculty mentors to build presentation skills.

Our Surgical Pathology Case Conference, held every Thursday at noon, is a resident-driven conference in which residents on surgical pathology present interesting cases seen on service. This conference provides residents with the opportunity to hone their microscopic description skills and differential diagnoses.

Microbiology Plate Rounds, held on Thursdays at 11AM, allow residents on microbiology service to present interesting cases seen during the week. Cases are discussed with the laboratory and infectious diseases team to facilitate interprofessional collaboration.

Resident meetings with program leadership are held monthly. At these conferences residents and faculty leadership discuss the successes and challenges currently happening in the department. This bi-directional feedback allows both residents and faculty to acknowledge and reinforce where our program is succeeding as well as to address areas where we can improve. Open communication between the residents and faculty has led to tangible improvements in everyday life in our department.

Morning didactics, journal clubs, and unknown slide sessions are all protected time for residents (residents exempt from clinical duties during these times).

Residents are also encouraged to attend and participate in multidisciplinary clinical conferences related to the rotation to which they are assigned. As residents become more experienced, they assume graduated increases in responsibility and transition from a purely observational role to presenting cases. These conferences provide opportunities to build presentation skills and for interaction with clinical staff, which is an important component of interprofessional education.