Pathology residency program
About the residency program
Clinical Pathology
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BWH Clinical Labs 		Pathology Residency, Brigham & Women's Hospital

Anatomic Pathology

The major strengths of the training program derive from its emphasis on five key elements of an academic pathologist's career:
  1. Diagnostic pathology. A high volume of clinical material from three hospitals and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is available for study, including 40,000 surgicals, 300 autopsies, and 52,000 cytologies per year at the BWH alone. Residents work in a variety of settings (including the subspecialties, women's and perinatal pathology, Children's Hospital, and the Veteran's Administration Hospital). There are no rotations in which the resident is just an observer; residents are integrally involved in diagnostic work in increasingly gain responsibility and independence as they advance beyond the core rotations. Advanced training and fellowships are available in nearly all organ-based (e.g., hematopathology, neuropathology, dermatopathology, etc.), and technique-based (e.g. cytology, molecular diagnostics, cytogenetics, etc.), subspecialties.

  2. Direct involvement in clinical evaluation, decision making and care of patients. In surgical pathology, reisdents have the opportunity to present cases and discuss them with clinicians individually and at conferences; most autopsy cases are presented and discussed with those who cared for the patients. Residents and fellow in subspecialty rotations discuss cases directly with clinicians, attend specialty grand rounds, and participate actively in other aspects of clinical specialty functions.

  3. Evaluation and application of contemporary and new technologies. This includes extensive use of cell marker tools, flow cytometry, image analysis, cytogenetics and molecular biological assays, as well as electron microscopy, histochemistry, immunofluorescence, and immunoperoxidase techniques.

  4. An understanding, in addition to the morphologic expression of lesions, of the pathogenesis and mechanisms of disease. The opportunity to gain expertise in all aspects of diagnostic pathology practice is enhanced by a strong emphasis on disease mechanisms. For this reason, a wide variety of teaching conferences are scheduled, and opportunities are made available to the house staff to attend and teach in courses emphasizing morphology and mechanisms of disease, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

  5. Basic and/or clinical investigation. The department has a large research program that comprises a wealth of basic, applied and clinicopathologic studies, affording interactions with basic and clinical investigators at all levels.

AP Core, PGY1 & 2
  • 6.5 months Surgical Pathology
  • 6 months Autopsy Pathology
  • 1.5 months Cytopathology
  • 1.5 months Hematopathology
  • 1.5 months Neuropathology
  • 1.5 months Pediatric Pathology
  • 2 month Women's Pathology
  • 1 month Renal
  • Pathology/Dermatopathology
  • 1 month Cytogenetics/Molecular Biology
  • 0.5 month Forensic Pathology