Post-Sophomore Fellowship
A Special Work-Study Experience in Anatomic Pathology
This special, one-year, work-study experience is an elective program offered by the Department of Anatomic Pathology at the University of California, San Francisco. Each year, two to four fellowships in Anatomic Pathology will provide third/fourth year medical students the opportunity to extend their knowledge of anatomic and surgical pathology as well as offer the motivated student the opportunity to take part in a research project or develop an independent study program. Fellows will rotate through the University of California affiliated hospitals: Moffitt-Long, San Francisco General Hospital & Trauma Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Fellows will spend three to four months on the Autopsy Service, where they will receive training and responsibilities similar to those of a first-year resident. Fellows will review patient charts prior to autopsies and then correlate the postmortem gross and microscopic findings with the clinical courses. Under the supervision of the senior resident and attending faculty, fellows will prepare final anatomic diagnoses and summarize the most important points of each case. Each fellow will take an active part in departmental and inter-departmental conferences and seminars.
Each fellow will have three to four months on the Surgical Pathology Service, again with training and responsibilities similar to those of a first-year resident. Under supervision, fellows will examine all gross specimens and, with knowledge of the clinical backgrounds, select representative tissue for microscopic examination. The fellows will then examine the slides prepared from that material and formulate a provisional diagnosis prior to sign-out with the senior staff. Fellows will also participate in surgical pathology clinical and teaching conferences.
Each fellow will prepare one interesting autopsy or surgical pathology case for a formal presentation at the teaching rounds during his/her fellowship. Additionally, each fellow will have opportunities to teach in the pathology course for second-year dental and medical students by assisting in the laboratories.
Three to four months of the fellowship can be set aside for research in order to pursue a problem in disease etiology and diagnosis under faculty guidance. This problem might be one that the fellow encountered during clinical rotations or one suggested by a faculty member from a collected list of possible research problems. The fellow may present the results of the research project to the faculty in lieu of, or in addition to, the clinical case presentation. Many of these research projects have led to publications or have been applied toward the “MD with Thesis” degree for UCSF medical students.
Requirements and General Information
Applicants must have satisfactorily completed the first and second year curriculums prior to starting the fellowship. The usual starting date is July 1, but variations in starting times can be negotiated.
Stipend
$25,189.00/year stipend for the 2008-2009 fellowship year. Each fellow will receive an annual $250 book fund.
Tuition
UCSF or outside medical students will take a leave of absence. The status for loan deferments and student services, such as health services, will be maintained. The Department of Pathology will pay for student health services for the length of the fellowship.
For further information and application forms students should contact Dr. Henry Sánchez at (415) 514-2068 or email him at henry.sanchez@ucsf.edu. Applications should be submitted by March 1, to be considered for the following summer, but late applications may also be considered.