Applications
Only applications submitted through ERAS© (Electronic Residency Application Service - Association of American Medical Colleges) will be considered. Information about ERAS may be obtained from www.aamc.org. The following documents should be submitted through ERAS for your application to be reviewed;
- Curriculum vitae
- One page personal statement (please include the specific tracks for which you are applying, i.e., AP/CP, AP-3, CP-3, AP/NP or AP/FP).
- Medical school transcript
- Dean’s letter (when available)
- Three letters of reference
- Official transcript of USMLE or COMLEX scores
Our program is accredited for up to 8 AP/CP or AP3 residents, and up to 2 CP residents each year. Please note that the CP3 program has a separate NRMP match number from the AP/CP – AP3 program. Applications must be received no later than December 1. Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted by the department to arrange for a mutually suitable time. Interviews are usually completed by late January.
Additional Information for International Medical Graduates:
Scores of at least 82 on both parts I and II of the USMLE in the first attempt are given preference. Fluent conversational and written English is required. Prior US experience in the form of clinical training or an advanced degree from a US institution is desirable but not required, and is considered in the context of the rest of the application. Observerships and externships are not relevant. UT Southwestern does not sponsor H1 visas for residents.
Evaluations
At the end of every rotation, the division director discusses the resident's performance directly with the resident and provides the resident with a written review, indicating areas of strength and weakness. The program director and the Resident Education Committee monitor progress. Residents have the opportunity to provide an anonymous evaluation of each rotation to the program director. The chair of the department asks each resident to complete a formal evaluation of the entire teaching faculty at the end of each year, which he uses to evaluate faculty performance relating to resident education. The residents meet monthly for a luncheon with the chief residents, who provide feedback to the program director; the faculty and program director attend these meetings when invited. The chairman also meets with the entire house staff several times each year to discuss any and all issues of concern.
Salaries and Benefits
Resident salaries for July 2008-2009:
PGY1-$45,075.00
PGY2-$46,564.00
PGY3-$48,460.00
PGY4-$50,395.00
Additional funds are provided to each resident for educational purposes including books and dues, and opportunities are available for participation at national pathology meetings. Benefits include health insurance, institutional malpractice insurance, disability insurance, retirement fund, 10 days sick leave and 15 days of paid vacation per year.
Sample Parkland Contract
Faculty
The full-time Pathology faculty comprises over 90 MD and PhD level individuals who are organized into formal divisions of Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Neuropathology, Pediatric Pathology, Hematopathology and Molecular Pathology. Other faculty are members of the Institute of Forensic Sciences and the Animal Resources Center. Over half of these individuals are directly involved with resident education, the others being primarily involved in departmental research activities.
Research
Extremely important changes are occurring in the discipline of pathology as the result of blossoming molecular technology, which has provided exquisitely sensitive tools for the investigation of human disease. Our department has a strong commitment to basic research in molecular and experimental pathology with a major focus on immunopathology and cancer biology. A strong group of investigators, who collectively constitute the Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, provide the milieu for residents who seek a career in academic pathology with a dedicated commitment to laboratory research. For those who choose this path, a program can be designed to meet research goals without compromising basic pathology training. This is usually accomplished through the AP3 or CP3 curriculum which incorporates 1 or 2 years of research training under the direction of a faculty mentor (research track).
Throughout the year, the "Update in Molecular Pathology" conference provides a forum at which various CP faculty members meet with the residents in an informal seminar format and discuss the nature of their research and its relationship to our current understanding of human disease. Below are some of the topics presented in 2006.
Metabolic Risk Factors, PP2A and Alzheimer Disease: A Menage A Trois
Molecular Pathogenesis of Lung Cancer
Understanding B lymphocyte biology through microarray data mining
Polycythemia Vera, Dawn of a New Era
Regulation of bone mass by Wnt/beta-catenin signaling
Functionally Active Cell Adhesion Receptors in Immune Regulation
Cytogenetics of Hepatoblastoma: New Disease insights using the modern-day technical repertoire
The 'Proteomics' of Hyperprolactinemia in Current Clinical Practice
Research is not limited to the wet bench laboratory. Most faculty members in the department are engaged in scholarly pursuits within the context of their clinical responsibilities. Although research is not required of the residents, we encourage the residents to become involved in collaborative research projects that arise out of material from their own daily clinical experience. This exercise teaches the application of sound scientific thought and principles to the practice of diagnostic pathology. Many of our residents present their research at regional, national and even international meetings. The combination of a strong commitment to both clinical service and to scientific research in its clinical, basic and translational areas is fundamental to the vision of our department and vital to our program in that it encourages the exchange of ideas between faculty with diverse interests.
Teaching
Regardless of career track, the pathologist will always be a teacher. Our program provides teaching experience through several mechanisms. Residents beyond the first year may serve as laboratory instructors in the sophomore pathology course at Southwestern Medical School. The residents lead the students in small group case discussions, functioning as junior faculty. The residents also gain teaching experience through the many departmental and interdepartmental conferences in which they actively participate.
Residents also participate in informal teaching of other residents and medical students on a continuing basis. The core rotations in Autopsy, Surgical Pathology, Transfusion Medicine and Hematopathology mix novice residents with more experienced residents who can provide instruction, back-up and support to their juniors. Medical students on third- and fourth-year electives in pathology are also paired with residents for instruction in daily activities.
At leas once, each resident makes a formal presentation of a topic of his/her choice to fellow residents and members of the faculty. This "Update in Pathophysiology"conference provides the opportunity for the resident to learn and share new important information with colleagues, and to gain valuable experience in conference preparation and presentation. The topic is usually based upon a case encountered by the resident during the course of their daily work with emphasis on the underlying pathophysiology/molecular biology of the disease. In addition to serving as an important learning experience related to the selected topic, this undertaking allows the resident to gain skills and self-confidence in group presentations. This exercise also provides the resident with training in computer graphics, a vital tool for the teaching role of all pathologists regardless of the character of their career. Some of the topics presented for 2006 are:
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A 2006 Update
EWS-ETS Oncoproteins: The Launching Pad for Diagnosis and Treatment of Ewing Family Tumors
Familial Adenomatous Polyposis and the APC Gene
Cokayne Syndrome: A disease of defective nucleotide excision repair
Got Chicken? (Avian Influenza)
RET-RAS-BRAF: The Converging Paths to Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
The Origins of Fibrosis
Spinocerebellar Ataxia 1 gets the Silent Treatment
On Immigration and Psoriasis
The use of Flow Cytometry in Diagnosis of Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemaglobinuria
Paraneoplastic Neurologic Syndromes
The role of Cyclin D1in Multiple Myeloma
GNAS1 and Progressive Osseous Heteroplasia
The Hygiene Hypothesis: How Endotoxin Can Prevent Asthma
Spermatocytic Seminoma: The ugly stepchild of testicular germ cell tumors
Conferences
Each clinical service provides a variety of teaching conferences and clinicopathologic correlation conferences as part of the rotation through that particular service. Journal clubs complement the teaching on some services. In addition to these smaller conferences, there are major department-wide conferences that all residents are expected to attend whenever possible. These include the following:
Clinical Pathology Lecture Series
Cytopathology Conference
Pediatric Pathology Conference
Clinical Pathology Rounds
Neuropathology Conference
Gross Pathology Conference
Pathology Research Seminar Series
Anatomic Pathology Lecture Series
Hematopathology Conference
Surgical Pathology Conference
Surgical Pathology Case Presentations
Microbiology Conference
Update in Molecular Pathology/Pathophysiology
Informatics/Management Lecture Series
