A fully approved four-year training program in anatomic and clinical pathology and one-year fellowships in surgical pathology and soft tissue/bone pathology are available. The anatomic pathology training program provides basic instruction in autopsy and surgical pathology including the subspecialties of neuropathology, pediatric pathology, neonatal pathology, dermatopathology and cytology. In addition to the traditional methods of diagnosis, experience is provided in immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and in-situ hybridization that are related to diagnostic pathology. The clinical pathology program covers all the major disciplines including laboratory computers. The staff conducts the residency teaching program with emphasis on individual instruction. There are numerous hospital teaching conferences in which residents actively participate. Residents are encouraged to pursue investigative work. A flexible schedule of instruction accommodates the various individual needs of the residents. Completion of the training program prepares the resident for a career in either hospital or academic pathology. This residency at Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH) is interactive with that at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), with video connections for lectures and slide seminars, ability to attend lectures at HUP, and ability to complement training with rotations in special areas such as molecular diagnostics, neuropathology, hematopathology, gastrointestinal pathology and cytopathology. Both institutions are members of the same University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS).
Eight residencies are offered. Residents may enter the program in the first postgraduate year or after a year of clinical training. Well qualified residents with previous training in pathology are occasionally appointed at an advanced level. One-year fellowships in surgical pathology and soft tissue/bone pathology.
The Pennsylvania Hospital is the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. In 1997 Pennsylvania Hospital joined the University of Pennsylvania Health System to create a network of health care and clinical training unsurpassed in the region. Pennsylvania Hospital has 505 beds and 50 bassinets and over 19,000 annual admissions. All staff members hold faculty appointments at the School of Medicine. The Pathology Department conducts an approved school of medical technology. The laboratory has an annual volume of more than 1,000,000 clinical laboratory tests; 20 autopsies; 13,000 surgical and 2,000 cytology specimens. The technical and clerical staff numbers about 98. The laboratories are well equipped and highly automated. A new laboratory computer system employing the latest technology and encompassing both the anatomic and clinical laboratories has been installed. The pathology working library includes 300 volumes and current pathology journals. Additional texts and journals are available in the hospital library and through access to the libraries of the School of Medicine and the Philadelphia College of Physicians.
The hospital is situated in downtown Philadelphia. The city’s medical schools, universities, historic sites and cultural centers are all easily accessible.
