Children’s Hospital, Eskenazi Hospital, and Roudebush Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. All these medical centers, located in downtown Indianapolis, serve different patient populations, and provide a diverse range of specimens and work environments for exceptional residency training.
Indiana University’s comprehensive residency program offers a combined, well-balanced anatomic and clinical pathology curriculum. In anatomic pathology, residents gain experience in surgical pathology including frozen section diagnosis, cytopathology, necropsy, forensic medicine, pediatrics, dermatopathology, neuropathology, electron microscopy, and molecular pathology. In clinical pathology, residents rotate through laboratories of hematolopathology, chemistry, microbiology, and blood bank/transfusion medicine. These labs offer comprehensive experiences in flow cytometry, bone marrow aspiration, laboratory administration, blood product utilization, therapeutic apheresis, molecular biology and genetics, virology, clinical toxicology/drug monitoring, endocrinology, and informatics. Special rotations in molecular pathology and lab administration are additional strengths to ensure practice preparedness.
The four-year residency program provides trainees with a solid foundation in diagnostic pathology and laboratory science with special emphasis on patient care, research, and teaching. Under the guidance of internationally recognized faculty, research projects are integrated into the curriculum and may encompass any number of subspecialty areas. Residents actively participate in formal and informal medical student education. Departmental teaching conferences occur each morning during protected educational time and sample all areas of anatomic and clinical pathology. Multidisciplinary interdepartmental conferences are scheduled regularly, as are city and statewide pathology meetings. Fellowships are offered in cytopathology, surgical pathology, hematopathology, dermatopathology, genitourinary pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, neuropathology, forensic pathology, clinical microbiology, and transfusion medicine.
There are 20 residency positions in total, with 5 match positions available most years. Most residents choose combined AP/CP, but AP-only, CP-only, and AP/NP options are also available. Additionally, the department has 12 fellows training across our 10 offered subspecialties. Diversity of all types is strongly valued and reflected in residency program’s and department’s composition.
The IU Health Pathology Laboratory is housed in a six-story, award-winning, stand-alone building that features state-of-the-art instrumentation, AV-equipped auditorium and sign-out rooms, cafeteria, and an attached parking garage. This centralized laboratory is connected to the two main hospital campuses by a short ride on a complimentary shuttle. Residents are each assigned a private spacious office cubicle with computer, microscope, and dictation equipment. Extensive research facilities are available and include those for molecular pathology and electron microscopy, as well as highly diversified instrumentation for clinical and experimental pathology studies.
The numbers of annual tests/procedures are summarized below. Beds: IU Health Partners Methodist/IU/Riley: 974/433/284, respectively; Eskenazi Hospital: 327; Roudebush Veterans Hospital: 150; Autopsies – 119; Forensic necropsies – 1312; Surgical pathology – 124,595; Frozen sections – 7,292; Cytopathology – 67,497; Fine Needle Aspiration – 5,834; Core Labs (Chemistry & Hematology) – 9,304,124; Microbiology – 1,034,000; Transfusion Medicine – 164,682.
Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana and boasts a population of one million. The “Circle City” is the 17th largest city in the U.S. and serves as a nexus for 4 interstate highways, an acclaimed international airport, and six cultural districts that are linked by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a beautiful and unique urban bike and pedestrian path. Indy offers big city amenities with a family-friendly, smaller city feel. The cost of living is low and commutes tend to be short. The city has an extensive park system with excellent public golf courses, swimming pools, and sailing facilities. Indianapolis is also home to multiple professional sports teams (e.g., NFL Indianapolis Colts, NBA Indiana Pacers, WNBA Indiana Fever) and major auto races (e.g., Indianapolis 500, Allstate 400 at the Brickyard). Indianapolis also frequently hosts national championships and numerous other amateur athletic sporting events. Although sports are an integral part of Indy, visitors and locals also have ample opportunity to experience a diverse range of cultural activities including: museums (Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis Children’s Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, and others), music (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Indianapolis Opera), live theater, and a world-class zoo. The city of Indianapolis also has a very strong focus on education and is home to numerous colleges and universities including: Butler University, Indianapolis University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), the University of Indianapolis and others, along with community colleges.
