Daily resident teaching conferences occur each morning.

The spectrum of topics covered in these teaching conferences are as diverse as the field of pathology. Attendance is required at these conferences.

Monday and Tuesday: AP didactics and unknown conferences.

• Surgical Pathology Didactics: The surgical pathology curriculum operates on a two year cycle, with faculty presenting on topics within their expertise. The current curriculum is based on prior resident feedback and spearheaded by faculty to ensure adequate coverage of relevant topics. The didactics are typically focused on a specific topic within a subspecialty area and may cover microscopy, diagnostic workup, reporting, molecular testing. Occasionally, gross conferences with live specimens are also held. Generally, the resident talks about specimen's possible organ of origin, gives a differential diagnosis of the disease process and discusses the best grossing technique for the specimen. Pathology boards include questions with gross pictures, so this is valuable preparation for boards and for broadening one's knowledge base.

• Surgical Pathology Unknown Conference: The week before this conference, an assigned faculty member will put out slides for several cases (usually about six to eight) for the residents to review and formulate a diagnosis. Digital slides are frequently available. During the conference, a resident will be called on to discuss the microscopic features, provide a differential diagnosis and explain what further studies (stains, molecular etc.) may be necessary to achieve a definitive diagnosis. The case is then discussed by staff and residents as a group. Usually the conferences have a theme (soft tissue, breast lesions, etc.) related to the special interest of the presenting faculty member.

• Autopsy Gross Conference: Once a month, the residents on the autopsy rotation will present and review interesting cases from the previous rotations. The autopsy conference is entirely resident-driven with oversight from our dedicated autopsy staff members.

Wednesday: Clinical Pathology Didactic Conference. Responsibility for this conference rotates from one clinical pathology service to another throughout the year (Transfusion Medicine, Chemistry, Hemepath, Immuno, Microbiology, Molecular Pathology, and Informatics). For example, seven didactic sessions of Hemepath are followed by seven sessions of Microbiology, etc. Topics are widely variable, and include classification of leukemias and lymphomas, flow cytometry, coagulation testing, mycobacteria, endocrine testing, platelet usage, laboratory information systems etc.

Thursday: Anatomic Pathology Specialty Conference. Usually this conference is a didactic, but occasionally unknown cases are put out similar to the surgical pathology unknown conference on Tuesday. Neuropathology, cytopathology, and dermatopathology are areas typically covered.

Friday: Clinical Pathology Morning Report. Residents from each of the clinical pathology services present cases via PowerPoint format to the other residents and staff, with a short discussion. Usually each presentation lasts 10 minutes. These are typically informal presentations and do not require the resident to spend an inordinate amount of time in preparation. Interesting components of the cases and presentations are discussed among the group of residents, staff, and faculty. The benefit of having the opportunity to hone presentation skills throughout residency training is invaluable.

Other Conferences:
Attendance is suggested, but not required:

Pathology Grand Rounds (Thursdays at noon): Similar to grand rounds in other specialties, a staff member, senior resident, fellow, or visiting faculty from another institution gives a didactic presentation. Lunch is usually provided.

Residents as Professionals (RAP) (aka Residents and Pizza): This is an hour long session held one Monday a month at noon. The topics discussed are varied, including: Business management, human resources, research techniques, time management, etc. Pizza is provided

Chairman Rounds: Held on the first Wednesday of every month at noon, Dr. Karandikar reviews special topics and interesting cases in flow cytometry.

Gastrointestinal (GI) pathology conference (Fridays): GI faculty present recent cases to gastroenterology clinical staff and give a short didactic regarding the pathologic features of the case. This conference provides a lively and informal experience in interdepartmental communication.

In addition to these, there are several other learning opportunities specific to each rotation, including, blood club, core lab meetings and hematopathology unknown conferences.