In addition to the general department conferences, residents in anatomic pathology rotations attend the tumor board, surgical pathology review, slide review, Kodachrome review, brain cutting conference, and mortality and morbidity conferences. Within the five-year residency, a core program of three and one half years leads to basic competence in both anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine. Residents spend the other eighteen months in clinical training or doing basic or applied research and in subspecialty training. Residents learn to perform a complete and thorough autopsy, to properly refer cases to the medical examiners' office and to recognize the gross and microscopic appearance of the more common disease states. Bone marrow aspirate and biopsy technique are taught and performed.
Residents are responsible for all autopsies under faculty supervision.
On the autopsy service, there is immediate review of the brain and spinal cord at time of autopsy. During surgical rotations, residents sign out all brain, muscle biopsy and neurological tissue with the neuropathologist. Residents handle all renal and tumor cases, obtaining clinical information, examining specimens under the electron microscope and preparing consultive reports. They also learn the application of special diagnostic technologies and techniques such as diagnostic flow cytometry, immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical studies, image analysis and molecular pathology. Residents rotate St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, a referral hospital, where they perform pediatric autopsies, surgical pathology and laboratory medicine consultations.