Pathology Residency Program

Orlando Health Pathology Residency Program

• Curriculum
• Educational Conferences
• Statistics
• Current Residents
• Faculty
• Institution Awards and Recognition
• Application Requirements & Resident Contract
• Benefits
• Health Sciences Library
• Contact Us

Thank you for your interest in the Pathology Residency Program at Orlando Health.

Orlando Health is a multi-hospital organization covering all medical and surgical specialties and providing comprehensive healthcare to more than two million residents and visitors in Orlando and Central Florida. Orlando Health is a major teaching hospital with eight residency programs and more than 200 residents across the major specialties .

Our ACGME accredited Pathology Residency Program is one of the oldest in Florida with more than 50 years of experience in residency training and placement. With unequaled surgical and clinical material, state-of-the-art facilities and a comprehensive list of services, we prepare residents to meet the challenge of pathology practice in any setting - academic medical center, private laboratory, or community hospital. Our program offers a comprehensive yet flexible curriculum, and we require an intense hands-on learning experience.

Our attending staff are all board certified, with fellowship-trained subspecialty expertise covering the complete range of subspecialty pathology practice. With 10 residents and 11 full-time faculty there is ample opportunity for close interaction between the residents and attending staff. For academic year 2012-2013 we are offering two (2) PGY-1 positions.

We are committed to resident education with state-of-the-art facilities, and a comprehensive list of services , that contribute to our unmatched reputation as a leader in postgraduate education.

Sincerely,

Shuan Li, MD
Program Director
Department of Pathology

Curriculum

Surgical Pathology - 19 months
Surgical Pathology is the heart of our anatomic pathology training, and with a caseload of over 55,000 surgical specimens a year, residents receive excellent exposure to a wide spectrum of diagnostic material. After an introductory month learning to grossly examine, describe and dissect under the tutelage of senior residents and experienced Pathologists' Assistants, new residents are immersed in the busy surgical service. Specimens that are grossly examined are reviewed the following day, independently by the resident and then together with the teaching faculty, for continuity of care and gross-histologic correlation. Residents perform frozen sections, communicate with clinicians, and spend time in the histology laboratory.

Autopsy and Forensics - 6 months
Residents spend 5 months learning to perform adult, child, and fetal autopsies under the direct supervision of a forensic pathologist. Due to the large volume of deliveries (over 14,000 yearly) in the Orlando Health system, residents have the opportunity to see a variety of rare and uncommon fetal conditions such as histiocytic cardiomyopathy and spondyloepiphysical dysplasia. One month is spent at the District 9 Medical Examiner's office, learning forensics under "Dr. G Medical Examiner" Dr. Jan Garavaglia and her staff.

Cytology - 3 months
Two months are spent training residents to diagnose both gynecologic and medical cytology specimens with direct one-on-one teaching by cytology faculty and staff. An additional month is spent rotating at Florida Hospital, where fine needle aspiration technique and interpretation are taught.

Electron Microscopy - 1 month
Having the only diagnostic electron microscope in central Florida, we perform over 300 cases a year both from within the hospital system and from regional referring institutions. Eighty percent of the caseload is renal pathology, with the other twenty percent involving neuropathology and congenital disorders. Combined with over 10,000 cases for review, resident have abundant opportunities for learning.

Hematopathology - 6 months
Over 700 bone marrow biopsies are examined yearly on the hematopathology service, along with numerous lymph node biopsies, blood smears, and fluid preparations. Our association with MD Anderson Cancer Center provides abundant diagnostic material. All benign and malignant conditions are represented on this busy service, creating a rich environment for resident learning. Flow cytometry is an integral component, so residents sign out all aspects of each case. Hemoglobin electrophoresis runs and coagulation panels are reviewed daily.

Blood Bank - 2 months
Residents rotate at Florida's Blood Centers headquarters, which is the blood product testing and processing center for over 70 hospitals in 21 Florida counties. During the rotation, residents learn all aspects of blood banking from collection to antibody workups by spending time with laboratory staff and lectures from blood bank pathologists.

Clinical Chemistry - 3 months
The clinical laboratory performs over 2 million procedures yearly. On the chemistry rotation, residents spend time learning principles of instrumentation and how to interpret tests. Troubleshooting and interaction with clinicians are stressed. Additionally, residents receive one-on-one lectures from teaching faculty and prepare cases to share in conference. Electrophoresis is signed out daily. A week-long rotation at Wuesthoff Reference Laboratories provides training in toxicology.

Microbiology - 3 months
From mundane community-acquired bacterial infections to exotic zoonoses, the diverse Orlando population provides an interesting spectrum of microbiologic specimens. Residents are actively engaged during their rotations through bacteriology, mycology, and virology and learn traditional culture/morphologic techniques along with newer immunologic and molecular methods.

Miscellaneous
Additional months are spent on rotations in immunology and laboratory management to round out clinical pathology training. An excellent 2-week rotation in molecular pathology is done at the state-of-the-art facilities of Genzyme Diagnostics in New York City, with expenses paid. Elective months are available to focus on areas of interest or schedule away rotations.

Didactics
Didactics are an integral component of the Orlando Health pathology residency. Formats include teaching staff lectures, "scope rounds," resident lectures, "unknowns" conferences, hands-on (brain cutting) conferences, journal club, and a variety of multidisciplinary conferences in which residents often present cases.

Educational Conferences

Additional Educational Opportunities

Senior residents are encouraged to attend major national conferences with institutional financial support. The department will pay approved expenses if residents are presenting scientific studies at these meetings. Since Orlando has become a popular city for national meetings, numerous pathologic conferences and workshops are held locally each year. The department strongly encourages our residents to arrange their service commitment to attend.

Statistics

The Department of Pathology at Orlando Health offers a high volume of teaching material of excellent variety in both anatomic pathology and clinical pathology. The following table represents the statistics for the year of 2009.

Current Residents

Current Pathology Residents

PGY 1
Shanedelle Norford, MD
Boston University
Aravindhan Sriharan, MD
University of Tennessee
Omid Rouhi, MD, PhD
Tehran University

PGY 2
Christopher Jones, MD
Texas Tech University School of Medicine
Adrienne Lawton, MD
University of Miami School of Medicine
Jack Wilson, MD University of Alabama School of Medicine

PGY 3
Amy Rich, MD
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Sarah Tinsley, MD
University at Buffalo State University of New York SOM

PGY 4
Shadi Ashrafi, MD
University of Utah School of Medicine
Lucy Harn Kapur, MD
University of California San Diego School of Medicine

Graduates

Career guidance and mentoring are provided throughout training.

At the end of each academic year, the graduating residents are honored with a formal banquet in the presence of their friends and families. A presentation is given to commemorate their academic accomplishments and hard work.

Graduates of the Orlando Health pathology residency program in the last three years have gone on to fellowships at MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston (head and neck pathology), University of Alabama Birmingham (hematopathology), University of Minnesota (hematopathology), UCLA (neuropathology and surgical pathology), University of Florida (cytopathology), and The Johns Hopkins Hospital (gynecologic pathology).

Past graduates now practice in a variety of environments including academic centers, private practice, and industry.

Photos courtesy of SantinoLamancusa

Faculty

Institution Awards and Recognition

Orlando Health is a great place to work. We are proud of our most recent awards for excellence.

• Employer of Choice®
• Best Doctors in America by Woodward/White Publishing
• Top 100 Hospital in America by HCIA
• Consumer's Choice Award by National Research Corporation
• Top 100 Hospital in Cardiac Intervention by HCIA
• Top 100 Orthopaedic Hospital by HCIA
• A "Most Wired" Healthcare System by Hospitals & Health Networks
• Top 10 Orlando Sentinel Top Company for Working Families
• Fourth Best Florida Employer for Working Women by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women
• Florida Children's Forum Family Friendly Business Award
• Vision Award for Diversity by the Downtown Orlando Partnership
• Partners in Education Award from the Orange County Schools in recognition of our innovative school-based education programs.

Application Requirements

All applications should be submitted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS). ERAS application forms are accepted July through December 31 each year. For information on ERAS, you may access their website at www.aamc.org/students/eras/support. This website will give you all the information you need about applying through ERAS including cost, deadlines and so forth.

We require a personal statement, USMLE Step 1 and 2, three letters of recommendation and a Dean's letter. For International Medical Graduates, we require passing of the Clinical Skills Assessment exam, passing of the USMLE Step 1 and 2 and you must be ECFMG certified. Candidates must hold permanent US residency status.

Interviews are granted October through January after review of completed applications. Applicants who are selected to interview with the program will receive an e-mail invitation before an interview can be scheduled. The Department of Pathology and Orlando Health participate and comply fully with the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) rules and regulations. All available positions are for the standard July through June residency period.

• Resident Contract

Benefits

Orlando Health offers competitive salaries with generous book allowances and benefits. The campus is located in a safe neighborhood near the heart of the city, convenient major thoroughfares.

• Medical, dental and vision insurance provided at minimal cost
• Retirement: 401K with employer contribution
• 4 weeks vacation time and 2 weeks of sick leave provided annually
• Additional days for conference attendance, fellowship interviews and board exams
• Financial support for research presentations
• Financial support for ASCP weeklong pathology board review course
• Meals, lab coats and parking are provided free of charge
• Stipend provided for textbooks/travel

Contact Us

If you require more information, you can reach us by e-mail at PATHRES@orlandohealth.com or by phone at 321.843.5122.

Shuan Li, MD
Pathology Residency Program Director

Chelle Kozy
Academic Program Manager