Info on MGH subspecialty surgpath fellowships

[PathRes123]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi guys,
<o></o>
Can somebody pls post information on MGH subspecialty surgpath fellowships? Do they interview and take fellows from outside or are they mostly filled internally?<o></o>

How flexible is the fellowship structure? If one is so inclined, can somebody do a single subspecialty (e.g. GI + research) thru the whole fellowship year or does it have to be more like a general surgical pathology fellowship, only with fewer rotations. And if you can do a single subspecialty, do you tell this in your initial application, or is it discussed later?
<o></o>
And what attributes are they looking for in an applicant (board scores? research?), and who makes the decisions on inviting and selecting fellows?
<o></o>
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for reading!

 

[pathstudent]

Hi guys,
<o></o>
Can somebody pls post information on MGH subspecialty surgpath fellowships? Do they interview and take fellows from outside or are they mostly filled internally?<o></o>

How flexible is the fellowship structure? If one is so inclined, can somebody do a single subspecialty (e.g. GI + research) thru the whole fellowship year or does it have to be more like a general surgical pathology fellowship, only with fewer rotations. And if you can do a single subspecialty, do you tell this in your initial application, or is it discussed later?
<o></o>
And what attributes are they looking for in an applicant (board scores? research?), and who makes the decisions on inviting and selecting fellows?
<o></o>
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for reading!

Subspciealy resident training and fellowships is the only way to go.

 

[PathRes123]

Caffeinegirl, neddy, mindy....anybody? Thanks.

 

[caffeinegirl]

Hello!

First of all, MGH does take outside candidates for surg path fellowships. These include all subspecialties, including lung, CV, GI, GU, Gyn, Hemepath, breast, cytopath, renal, OB, ENT, Bone and soft tissue.

The more competitive fellowships are the ACGME fellowships (hemepath, cyto, dermpath) because of the limited number of spots.
We also have a structured Scully Gyn+cyto fellowship, which is usually filled by an internal candidate.

For all of the other subspecialties, you usually can do one to three different subspecialties. Your application essay should state which subspecialties you'd like to sign out, or are interested in. We usually have one dedicated GI and one dedicated breast fellow a year. In addition to that, other fellows can sign out more than one, including GI.

The person in charge of fellowships is the head of Surg Path, Dr. Greg Lauwers, and for each specialty the specialty director. Since this fellowship is a sign out fellowship, they are looking for people who will be able to do this..(you are also on back-up frozens call, sign out independently frozen sections during the day). Independent sign out is expected after a couple of weeks of being cosigned by an attending. In addition, interest in that specific field (pubs, research, etc) is also expected and you are expected to participate in projects during your time as a fellow.

Also check out:
http://www2.massgeneral.org/pathology/train/fellowships.htm#SURGICALPATH
This website is pretty clear and self-explanatory.

Hope this answers the first round of questions..I'm more than happy to help as an alum of the program (residency and fellowship)...PM me if you'd like 🙂

 

[yaah]

I thought Scully retired like 5 years ago!

 

[caffeinegirl]

yes, Scully has retired, but the fellowship is named after him 🙂

 

[pathstudent]

yes, Scully has retired, but the fellowship is named after him 🙂

Those are awesome fellowships. Does CV and BST fill every year? I doubt many other residencies have both of the fellowships. That is the true test of a powerhouse program.

 

[PathRes123]

Thanks caffeinegirl for the info!<o></o>
<u3>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--></u3>I had looked up that page earlier but your reply clarified a few things.<o></o>

here is the second round 🙂<o></o>
<u3></u3>
What’s the total number of positions for the (non-ACGME) subspecialty fellowship?..the link does not mention it.<o></o>
<u3></u3>
“Since this fellowship is a sign out fellowship, they are looking for people who will be able to do this..”<o></o>
and do they judge that with a slide test during interview?
<u3></u3>
I had heard about the independent sign out thing for some time now..sounds like a big plus. How would you rate the fellowship otherwise…pros, cons if any?<o></o>
<u3></u3>
.Thanks.

 

[caffeinegirl]

CV and BST don't fill every year

The number of spots available every year varies depending on interest in the subspecialty as well as how well covered the subspecialty is by faculty that year. I'd say that total surg path fellowship spots varies from year to year, from maybe 3ish to 6ish?? I may be off by those numbers. The best thing to do is to contact Dr. Lauwers and/or the director of that subspecialty early on to find out availability.

There is no slide test during the interview. The interview/evaluation process looks for academic interest, personality, references, etc...

PROS: independent sign out. You're able to give the final diagnosis in a protected environment, where you can freely show cases around for a second opinion. Plus, you get to teach residents on a one-to-one setting at sign out and at the grossing area during your weeks on service, give Outs conferences (slide sessions), tumor boards, etc. You're basically junior faculty/instructor position but at a graduate assistant level on your CV.

CONS: Ummm...none? I loved every minute of my fellowship. It absolutely helped of course that I had been there for residency since I already knew the system, faculty, and most of the residents. I think that a con would be the adjustment period if you were an external candidate...but you get over that in the first couple of months. There are plenty of people that you can ask for help and that are also happy to help you 🙂

At the end of my fellowship I felt really comfortable knowing what I know and definitely when I don't know something..and where to go from there. Feeling comfortable with that feeling of uncertainty, and knowing what tools I have to assuade that feeling was the most important lesson I got.

 

[Gyric]

This should be the model for pathology fellowship training. I presume that all fellows are board certified in order to get sign out privileges at MGH? One problem in aplying this to acgme fellowships is that you can not bill for your reports and still qualify for specialty boards, I think? If your hemepath fellows are signing out cases then maybe I am missing something (also, my hospital requires heme boards to sign out marrows for example).

 

[caffeinegirl]

We take our boards the month before fellowship starts.
All of our ACGME fellowships are without independent signout.

 

[PathRes123]

Thank you caffeinegirl for all the info!

Anything else I should know about the app or interview process?

..also forgot to ask: how much of grossing is involved..

 

[caffeinegirl]

Grossing is for the residents! As a fellow you do not gross (since neither do the faculty gross).

you go over gross specimens which you will be signing out (such as Whipples, complicated resections, etc) with the resident and guide them as to how to gross it. I definitely think that seeing the gross specimen regardless helps with signing out the slides. There's a lot of teaching involved with this fellowship...at the grossing bench and also at the scope.

 

[icpshootyz]

Subspciealy resident training and fellowships is the only way to go.

Personally I disagree. I actually chose my residency because it is primarily general-signout as opposed to subspecialty. Obviously both systems can train excellent residents, but I don't feel that one is far superior to the other. For basic residency training, my personal feeling is general sign-out is better. It keeps you on your toes with all organ systems at all times. Sure, if you have a specific fellowship in mind then a subspecialty fellowship makes sense. But again, a general surg path fellowship may provide you with exposure to all organ systems, whereas a subspecialty fellowship with only three or four organ system focus may lack exposure to the other organ systems. I know my program has general surg path fellowships, and the fellows can select month-long blocks in any subspecialty they like, which over the course of the year allows them for focused training as they feel necessary. But, everyone has their preference, and obviously many of the general and subspecialty residencies/fellowships are producing excellent pathologists regardless of the teaching method. I just disagree that one way is the only way to go, I think that's just your personal preference.