The Special Study Experience in Anatomic Pathology or Laboratory Medicine (Clinical Pathology) provides students an opportunity to expand their knowledge of either or both in a working fellowship that includes research and independent study. The structure of the fellowship year is somewhat flexible to permit the student to tailor the program to his or her interests.
Students in this program take a year out from medical school (usually between third and fourth years) and spend it in the Department, functioning like a PGY1 Resident. This program has been run by the Department since 1983 and has been a transformative year for many physicians, regardless of their future subspecialty. Student Fellows have gone on to attend top residencies at prestigious institutions, have gone into every possible specialty, and have gone on to be leaders, including a Chair of Pathology.
Applicants must have satisfactorily completed the basic Medicine and Surgery clinical rotations. The student fellow will earn $27,000, which may be taken as a monthly stipend during the fellowship year or may be issued at the end of the year as a fellowship award to be applied towards the following year’s medical school tuition. In addition, the program covers student fees and health insurance, and provides for travel to a national meeting if the student will be presenting his or her research.
In the Anatomic Pathology Special Study Experience, the student fellow spends at least three months on the Autopsy service and three months on the Surgical Pathology service. Responsibilities are similar to those of a PGY1 resident. Additionally, three months of the fellowship are devoted to the investigation of a problem in disease etiology and diagnosis under staff guidance.
The Special Study Experience in Laboratory Medicine is spent in one to three of the major laboratories (Chemistry, Coagulation, Hematology, Transfusion Medicine, Immunology, Microbiology, or Molecular Pathology). Usually, student fellows rotate through two of these service areas and then spend six months in intensive research and study in a third area. Each student fellow meets with the Advisory Committee to arrange a program that is most consistent with his or her specialized interests and goals.
