Training & Curriculum

Graded responsibility is incorporated into service and teaching during the fellowship. Over the course of the fellowship, the fellow is expected to become increasingly more competent in handling sign-outs in a more independent fashion and with less direct supervision from attendings. The fellow will initially handle intraoperative consultation cases independently, followed by review with the attending, prior to calling the surgeon with results. The fellow is expected to independently communicate with clinicians, gather pertinent clinical data, work up the case using immunohistochemical markers or other ancillary testing, and seek consultations when necessary prior to bringing the case to the attending.

The fellow participates and presents at the following subspecialty-specific c onferenc es: Daily OB-GYN Pathology Consensus Conference, weekly Gynecologic Oncology Tumor Board, weekly Perinatal Conference and quarterly Journal Club.

In addition, the fellow can attend numerous conferences within the department and throughout the medical center, including the daily Surgical Pathology Consensus Conference, Pathology Grand Rounds, tumor boards from other pathology subspecialties and other medical specialties, and a variety of research seminars.

The fellow will mentor residents, both for clinical duties and conference presentations, and thus gain valuable experience as a "junior faculty," performing sign-outs one-on-one with residents under the guidance of attendings. Fellows present departmental and interdepartmental conferences as well as teaching sessions for residents.

The Department of Pathology at Cedars-Sinai is among the top in the country for scholarly activity, publications and research, offering ample resources and support for clinicopathologic and translational research projects.

In addition, Cedars-Sinai has very strong clinical, translational and research programs to include the Women's Cancer Program, Center for Research in Women’s Health and Sex Differences (CREWHS) and Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute. Research collaborations are also encouraged with the divisions of Gynecologic Oncology, Obstetrics, Fetomaternal Medicine and Neonatology.

The program director meets with the fellow at the beginning of the academic year to identify the fellow's goals and career aspirations, create an individualized development and learning plan, and tailor training as needed. The program director also meets with the fellow at least biannually to review the fellow's evaluations, ensuring that the fellow is on track to meet all appropriate milestones, make considered career choices and engage with local and national pathology organizations. In addition, the fellow has open access to the program director to discuss any issues that may arise throughout training.

Evaluations are based on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestones incorporating the six competencies into the curriculum (medical knowledge, patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice). Assessment tools include direct observation, faculty evaluations, 360 evaluations, fellow in-service examinations, educational and research activities, quality assurance and patient-safety activities, and conference presentations. The fellow will also become a member of the fellowship Program Evaluation Committee, reviewing the fellowship program and offering insight regarding areas in need of improvement.