Mass General Brigham Pathology Residency Program
Email: mgbpathologyresidency@mgb.org
Overview
The Mass General Brigham (MGB) Pathology Residency Program seeks to train the next generation of leaders in diagnostics, education and investigation while providing the highest quality of innovative care. The discipline of pathology is devoted to the definitive diagnosis and the understanding of the pathogenesis of human disease. We believe that a solid foundation of knowledge of human pathology and understanding of disease mechanisms is essential for careers in clinical practice and research. Both practitioners and researchers must, in addition, be skilled at synthesizing information, communicating it to others, and teaching. Our programs recognize that each distinct career path in pathology has an optimal blend of training experiences, therefore we provide all residents the opportunity to customize their training to support individual interests and career goals within the constraints of the requirements of the American Board of Pathology and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Key strengths of our training program are the high volume of routine and challenging specimens, the clinical and academic expertise of the faculty, the daily involvement of the faculty in training the residents, the enthusiasm and high quality of our residents, and the flexibility of our programs in constructing individual training pathways.
Learning occurs at daily sign-out sessions, and at working and teaching conferences at which residents discuss their interpretation of pathological findings and laboratory results with senior pathologists, present pathology and laboratory findings to clinicians, and review and present relevant literature. Formal didactic lectures are provided by both AP and CP faculty throughout training. Just as important are the innumerable informal discussions with staff and co-residents that solidify knowledge and build professional connections.
Given our shared values and commitment to pathology residency education, we look forward to this new era of joint training which will harness the best aspects of both departments.
Requirements
We require the following items submitted through ERAS:
- Application
- Curriculum vitae
- Personal statement
- MSPE (Dean’s letter)
- Medical school transcript
- Minimum of 3 current letters of recommendation
In addition,
- Candidates must have passed Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and/or Level 1 of the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX).
- Documentation of successful completion of the USMLE Step 2 and/or COMLEX Level 2 is not required for application or interview, but is required prior to starting residency. It is therefore strongly encouraged that applicants take the USMLE Step 2 and/or COMLEX Level 2 examination by December 31 to ensure that scores are available in time for the start of residency.
- Successful completion of USMLE Step 3 is not required prior to starting residency; it must be passed during the first two years of residency to enable appointment at the PGY3 level or higher.
- We do not have a minimum USMLE or COMLEX score requirement.
International medical graduates
- A valid ECFMG certificate is required prior to starting residency; this is also required for participation in the NRMP.
- Please note that USMLE requirements depend on whether or not a visa is needed (see below)
Residents need not hold U.S. citizenship.
J-1 and H-1B visas will be sponsored for selected individuals.
- The Departments sponsor J-1 visas via ECFMG. It is necessary to have passed USMLE Steps 1 and 2.
- To qualify for H-1B status to perform clinical medicine, it is necessary to have passed USMLE Steps 1, 2 and 3, hold a valid ECFMG certificate, and hold a full or limited Massachusetts Medical License.
Curriculum
In the Mass General Brigham pathology residency training experience, Anatomic Pathology (AP) and Clinical Pathology (CP) residency curricula are designed to provide concentrated core training followed by enhanced flexibility that enables each resident to customize training to suit individual interests and needs.
Training is available as either a three-year program in AP, a three-year program in CP, or a combined four-year program (AP/CP). We also offer an AP/Neuropathology (NP) track. In all tracks, residents will spend substantial blocks of time at both BWH and MGH. During core training, we will not expect residents to travel back and forth between the two hospitals within the same day. Residents will have equivalent exposure at both departments to the majority of subspecialties throughout their core training.
All trainees seeking AP alone, AP/CP or AP/NP complete the Core AP program consisting of a broad mix of surgical and autopsy pathology and cytopathology, plus subspecialty rotations. All trainees seeking CP alone or AP/CP complete the Core CP program consisting of rotations in Chemistry, Microbiology, Transfusion Medicine, Hematology, Coagulation and Molecular Diagnostics. To complement these rotations, there is an extensive and well-organized schedule of both working and teaching conferences in which residents at all levels from both institutions participate.
Resident Orientation
Incoming residents will have a multi-week orientation which provides time for residents to rotate in small groups through different areas of both departments. Multiple introductory lectures and information sessions with the chief residents, laboratory staff, and program directors are incorporated into these weeks. Orientation is complemented by our homegrown "Histocamp", a resident-developed, highly interactive introduction to histology tailor-made for first-year residents. Histocamp includes curated digital slides and a step-by-step guide for independent, daily previewing including recognition of normal and abnormal histology. Each previewing session is followed by group sessions with senior residents who ensure that trainees have grasped the fundamentals and who also provide guidance in how to describe microscopic findings. Residents also participate in grossing camp.
Anatomic Pathology Core Training
The Core AP Program includes 24 months of structured training including approximately 12 months of surgical pathology subspecialties (bone and soft tissue pathology, breast pathology, cardiovascular pathology, endocrine pathology, gastrointestinal pathology, genitourinary pathology, gynecologic/obstetrical pathology, head and neck pathology, medical renal pathology, ophthalmic pathology, and pulmonary and thoracic pathology); 2.5 months of cytopathology; 1.5 months of autopsy pathology; 1.5 months of frozen sections; and dedicated rotations in hematopathology, dermatopathology, neuropathology, molecular diagnostics and cytogenetics, and pediatric pathology. There are also several weeks available during the core training to be used as elective time or independent study.
The core AP rotations are designed to provide residents with independent physician responsibilities. Residents gain competency in pathology diagnostics through exposure to clinical specimens of varying complexity. Residents on surgical pathology core rotations are the point pathologists for their surgical cases and independently perform gross examination, preview histological slides, draft pathology reports, and review pathological findings with faculty during sign-out. Subspecialty services offer exposure to diverse in-house and consult material.
The core clinical experience is complemented by an organized curriculum of lectures and educational histology slide sessions from the pathology faculty.
Residents in the AP/NP program complete the 24-month AP core program before advancing to the two years of Neuropathology fellowship training.
Clinical Pathology Core Training
Core CP training for residents is a highly structured program and consists of 3 months of Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank, Hematology, and Molecular Diagnostics and 2 months of Coagulation.
The CP rotations are designed to provide training for the pathologist to direct the operation of the clinical laboratory in all of its aspects (methodology, quality control, clinical interpretation of laboratory tests and administration) and to provide opportunities for subspecialty or investigative work during the training period.
The program encourages active participation by the resident in the daily life of the laboratory. Resident duties and responsibilities vary from laboratory to laboratory, but include interpretation and reporting of significant laboratory findings, active participation in quality control programs, clinical problem solving, and functioning as a liaison between the laboratory and clinical staff. Residents actively participate in teaching seminars for students, residents, and staff. The program is sufficiently flexible to provide time for residents to receive in-depth training and experience in subspecialties of particular interest without jeopardizing the overall training experience, and to increase cross-training and use of molecular diagnostics and other technologies, in order to prepare trainees for careers in modern pathology. Residents are also encouraged to become involved in projects in clinical, translational, and basic research.
Combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Core Training
The combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (AP/CP) training program consists of a 24-month structured core in AP and an 18-month structured core in CP. The entire first year consists of AP core rotations. After the first year, AP and CP core rotations are integrated throughout the remaining training period.
Research Experience
Clinical/Translational Research Opportunities
Resident participation in clinically-oriented translational research is actively encouraged and commonplace across the pathology departments at BWH and MGH. Even for trainees intending to eventually practice pathology in a non-academic setting, we believe that the process of developing a research hypothesis, generating data, writing up findings, and presenting work in a peer-reviewed manuscript is a valuable component of their education and career development. In addition, many studies involve collaborations with physicians in other departments, fostering interdepartmental relationships.
Clinical/translational studies typically use case material from the large archives of the BWH and MGH pathology departments and technologies ranging from immunohistochemistry to multiplexed approaches such as mass spectrometry, tissue imaging, next-generation sequencing, and transcriptional profiling. Immunohistochemical studies, long a mainstay of clinical pathology research, continue to form the backbone of pioneering diagnostic advances made by our pathology departments that have broadly impacted routine pathology practice. We are also fully committed to allowing trainees access to the tools of "translational molecular pathology" - innovative technologies, particularly in the realms of molecular diagnostics and cytogenetics, that permit fundamental investigation of disease mechanisms and pathogenesis and increasingly inform precision diagnosis, sensitive disease detection, and targeted treatment of human disease. Access to annotated databases such as OncDRS and the DFCI cBioPortal, which provide a compendium of treatment outcome results and other clinical data, complement such studies. Additionally, internal and external access to clinical mutation and/or fusion data (e.g., for trial design and/or biomarker development) is organized through a core laboratory at MGH. Funding from a variety of sources, including awards such as the Robbins Fellowship and the Vickery-Colvin Grants, is available to support these types of trainee-driven research studies.
Reflecting our commitment to participation of trainees in research, our residents, fellows and faculty present numerous poster and platform presentations at national and international scientific and clinical meetings, including the yearly United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP), Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS), American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) and Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) meetings, as well as subspecialty-specific meetings. Travel funds are available to support trainees who are presenting a first-author poster or platform talk at a national meeting. In addition, senior residents and fellows have been presenters and authors in the Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital, which are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
How to Apply
All applications for residency should be submitted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).
In ERAS, please specify the track to which you are applying:
- Anatomic Pathology Only or Combined AP/CP (NRMP: 2395300C0) ➞ choose this track if you are interested in AP or AP/CP
- Clinical Pathology (Laboratory Medicine) Only (NRMP: 2395300C1)
- Anatomic Pathology/Neuropathology AP/NP (NRMP: 2395300C2)
Our application deadline is October 31st for positions beginning the following year. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible