The McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University offers fully accredited residency programs in anatomic pathology (AP), clinical pathology (CP) and neuropathology (NP) based at Northwestern Memorial Hospital/Prentice Women’s Hospital, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (Lurie Children’s), and the Cook County Office of the Medical Examiner. Candidates may choose a residency in AP or CP only, a combined program of AP/CP, or in some years, AP/NP. A Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) track is also available and can be combined with any track.
Residents fully participate in the department’s mission of providing service, scholarship and teaching. The program emphasizes a collaborative, collegial, and supportive environment, with faculty who are passionate educators and mentors invested in the success of our residents.
Structured formal teaching, including didactic lectures, unknown slide conferences, and case-based teaching, cover all areas of modern pathology practice.
Strong clinical training is the foundation of the program. To become effective clinical consultants, pathology residents in each laboratory play an integral role in the day-to-day patient care activities of the laboratory, including administration and supervision.
All residents participate in clinical or translational research projects. This experience teaches them how to critically analyze the medical literature and serves as a basis for understanding the relationship between basic science and patient care. Residents frequently present at national meetings, and most have published at least one research paper by graduation.
Teaching is an essential function of the pathologist — both in terms of teaching trainees as well as effective consultations with clinicians. Residents have many opportunities for developing their teaching skills in intra- and interdepartmental pathologic and clinicopathologic conferences, a variety of medical student teaching sessions, peer-to-peer teaching on rotation, and consulting with clinicians regarding cases encountered in the different pathology disciplines.
The Pathology program has 26 ACGME accredited positions.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH), in partnership with Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, is a nationally recognized academic medical center and a major Midwest referral center with more than 1,554 physicians representing virtually every clinical specialty. Clinical sites are as follows: Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH): Main clinical site, where residents spend majority of their time. Large academic hospital (894 beds) ranked in top 10 nationally and #1 in Illinois by US News. Located in the heart of downtown Chicago. Prentice Women’s Hospital: Adjacent to NMH and where all gynecologic and obstetric care is provided. Largest birthing center in Illinois and home to the Lynn Sage Breast Center as well as expert physicians in every gynecologic subspecialty. Lurie Children’s Hospital: Nationally ranked pediatric hospital. Located adjacent to NMH. Residents do 2 months of pediatric AP and at least 1 month pediatric CP here. Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office: Located in Chicago. Offers a competitive forensic pathology fellowship and an excellent resident rotation in forensic pathology. Residents spend one month here. Our facilities boast state-of-the-art labs, including an expansive pathology gross room with ten modern grossing stations, as well as a brand new resident room with office and kitchenette facilities. The downtown campus also contains several buildings affiliated with the medical school and law school, as well as state-of-the-art research facilities housed in the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center and the brand new 629,000-square foot Simpson-Querrey Biomedical Research Center.
Chicago is a vibrant city with nearly 2.7 million people and a medical center of worldwide reputation. Feinberg School of Medicine is situated on the shores of Lake Michigan near the Gold Coast / Magnificent Mile and within walking distance of the Loop. There are numerous scientific and world class cultural institutions as well as major professional sports and other recreational facilities available in the city.
