PATHOLOGY
INTEREST GROUP
David N. Bailey, M.D.
Vice Chair for Education
UC San Diego Department of Pathology
September 18, 2012
UC San Diego Health System Center
for Advanced Laboratory Medicine
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
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Purpose

To stimulate interest in Pathology as
a career for those who have not
decided upon a Pathology career and
to enhance interest and information
for those who have decided to pursue
Pathology as a career
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Pathology Interest Group
Meetings (2012-13)
September 18, 2012 (Ronald McLawhon)
(Overview of Pathology; Tour of CALM)
 November 15, 2012 (Robert Newbury)
(Pediatric Pathology)
 January 8, 2013 (Steven Gonias)
(Physician-Scientists in Pathology)
 March 21, 2013 (Scott VandenBerg)
(Neuropathology)
Liebow Auditorium, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

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TONIGHT’S PROGRAM
Overview of Pathology as a Discipline
(David N. Bailey)
 UC San Diego Pathology Residency
Program (Brian Datnow)
 Pathology Resident Panel (Deidre
Amaro and David Li, Co-Chairs)
 Tour of Center for Advanced
Laboratory Medicine (CALM) (Ronald
McLawhon)

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Why Pathology?
Interesting case material (broad and
diverse)
 Profession compatible with:
- Teaching (e.g., in ISC – pathologists chair
immunology, microbiology, hematology,
and direct the pathology and histology
threads) (popular teachers – multiple
Kaiser awards; six campus-wide
distinguished teaching awards)

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Why Pathology? (cont.)
Also compatible with:
- Research and scholarly pursuits (some
Nobel laureate pathologists, e.g., J. Robin
Warren – h. pylori; Beruj Benacerraf –
immunological reactions; George Whipple
– intrinsic factor; Karl Landsteiner – ABO
blood groups; Thomas Weller – cultivation
of polio virus in tissue culture; Peyton
Rous – tumor-producing viruses)

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Why Pathology? (cont.)
Also compatible with:
- Administration (obviously chairs and
directors of pathology – BUT also – chief of
staff in medical centers and even medical
school deans – e.g., Johns Hopkins, Yale,
Loma Linda, U. Minnesota, U. Kansas, Ohio
State University, Emory University, U.
Wisconsin, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine)
- Business (commercial laboratories)

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Why Pathology? (cont.)
Multiple subspecialties from which to
choose
 Potentially less hectic lifestyle
 Salaries are good

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Selected Pathology
Subspecialties
Anatomic Pathology
-Surgical Pathology
-Cytopathology
-Autopsy Pathology
-Forensic Pathology
-Neuropathology
-Molecular Genetics Pathology
-Pediatric Pathology

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Selected Pathology
Subspecialties (cont.)
Clinical Pathology (Laboratory
Medicine)
-Clinical Chemistry
-Hematopathology
-Transfusion Medicine
-HLA and Transplantation
-Immunopathology
-Microbiology

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Subdisciplines

Many subdisciplines exist within the
subspecialities (e.g., virology,
mycology, bacteriology, toxicology,
coagulation, enzymology,
cytogenetics, molecular diagnostics,
etc.)
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Where do Pathologists Work?
Medical Centers
 Schools of Medicine
 Medical Examiner’s Offices
 Government (e.g., Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention; VA
Medical Centers; NIH)
 Commercial Laboratories
 Private Pathology Practice Groups
Covering Multiple Centers

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Direct Patient Interaction
Possible: Some Examples
Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology
 Hematopathology (Bone-Marrow
Aspiration and Biopsy)
 Transfusion Medicine Work-up
 Invited Consultations

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Pathology Clinical Selectives
and Electives
Clinical Clerkships in Surgical Pathology,
Cytopathology, Autopsy, Ophthalmic
Pathology, Laboratory Medicine, Pediatric
Pathology (four weeks in fourth year)
 Selectives (two weeks – third year in
surgery block)
UC San Diego Surgical Pathology
VA San Diego Health Care System –
Anatomic Pathology
Ophthalmic Pathology
(They count as “surgical” selectives too!)

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Pathology Clinical Selectives
and Electives (cont.)

Pre-Clerkship Experience in Laboratory
Medicine (Fall Quarter – MS II; Winter
Quarter – MS I/MS II)
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Comments? Questions?
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