Both programs I've been at had basically dedicated grossing days. One program had more specimens (complex and small) but also had a very talented PA who made sure the work got done in time to go on the processor and that residents had just enough to keep them pushed but not overwhelmed; the majority of the grossing day would be spent in the gross room, though with time for lunch, breaks, etc., and only occasionally would a late arriving complex specimen take until after hours (5-6 PM) if you started it but couldn't finish it in time. The PA would do a decent number of the complex cases, as there were so many, but most were left for the resident. However, we also rotated grossing on Saturday, which was done without the PA, but was usually about half or less the load of a regular weekday, so often one could finish in reasonable time for lunch. I seem to remember eventually extending the rotation to 3 days, but for a while it was a 2 day setup where we grossed on day 1, signed out on day 2, then started over -- very little preview or postview time; eventually I think we got a 3rd day to at least postview and read. Suboptimal for residents.
The other program had fewer specimens, also had a regular PA, but also had PA students and more academic distractions (conferences, etc.). The PA only rarely did complex specimens, but took care of most of the biopsies and small specimens much of the time. I remember it being very rare that one would stay after hours (5-6 PM) grossing unless one was very new/slow, or absurdly unfortunate that the last pick-up had multiple complex cases the attending didn't want held over. It was a little easier to have a longer lunch and longer breaks, but most of the day was still usually spent in the gross room. This was a more traditional 3 day rotation, so more scope time, and I thought much more suitable for residents. (At the same program we had some time at the local VA, which worked entirely differently; so few specimens we often did everything on the same day, gross, preview, sign-out, follow-up, etc., but it was a minority of the training time in surg path.)
I think there's something to be said for specialty grossing and sign-out, though I'm not convinced it's the sole ideal training setup. Mainly because what you get out of a specialty's rotation in 1st year probably isn't what you get out of it in 4th year, so if you don't repeat the same specialty the training is, I think, likely to be unbalanced. I also think some specialty attendings are less likely to give one a good foundation than they are to overwhelm one with minutiae one may not have time to absorb. But the concept is good and may work well in some places.
