DR. TCHAKAROV: Hello, I'm Dr Tchakarov. Welcome to the Department of Pathology at the University of
Texas Houston. Our department belongs to McGovern Medical School and is located in the Texas Medical
Center, the largest medical center in the world which houses approximately 5,000 physicians and
multiple medical institutions. We are a large program offering combined AP and CP training. We
have 28 resident positions and recruit residents from diverse backgrounds. Let's listen to what
Dr. Wahed, our program director, has to say. DR. WAHED: We offer a training program which
is balanced in anatomic and clinical pathology. Additionally, we strongly encourage our residents
to participate in research and scholarly activities. In our program, residents enjoy
the collegial approach of our faculty and thrive under their mentorship. Program leaders and
faculty have opened doors and welcome residents to discuss cases and seek guidance as needed.
Our program is designed around maximizing your opportunities to learn through hands-on practice
along with research projects and publications. We have not opened too many fellowships as we like
our senior residents to perform at the level of fellows ensuring excellent preparation for future
fellowships. We are proud that our residents secure highly reputed fellowship positions
throughout the TMC and across the nation. DR. TCHAKAROV: Our core rotations take
place at LBJ Hospital, a county hospital, as well as Memorial Hermann Hospital in the TMC
which is a thousand bed hospital and a level one trauma center.
Both locations have recently built or renovated pathology suites. Between our core sites and our
outreach lab we have approximately thirty two thousand surgical specimens twenty six thousand
cytology specimens and three million tests yearly. Dr. Bhattacharjee, our Vice Chair of Education
would like to share a few words about AP training. DR. BHATTACHARJEE: Our residents attain competency
in AP by close supervision in the initial years in repeated teaching. Graduated responsibility
is a hallmark of our program. We have a good volume of cases from all sub-specialties,
be it neuropathology to renal pathology, or soft tissue to cardiac pathology. We have it all!
Working at Memorial Hermann and LBJ hospitals with electives at MD Anderson and other institutions
ensures exposure to a broad spectrum of cases and practice settings. Residents participate
in surgical pathology QA conference, tumor boards, and numerous unknown and educational
conferences to round out their training. DR. TCHAKAROV: Our clinical pathology
program is unique with hands-on training and early exposure to all CP services which Dr. Armstrong,
one of our CP attendings, is going to explain. DR. ARMSTRONG: Our clinical pathology program is
one of the strongest in the nation as residents have exposure to CP in all years of training.
Our CP services are hands-on with constant faculty interaction. Our CP faculty have written review
books for all CP subjects and our RISE scores in these areas are at the top bracket. About a
third of our residents go on to CP fellowships, a fact that our CP faculty are very proud of.
DR. TCHAKAROV: Our residents are active in scholarly activities and are encouraged to
attend local and national meetings. They receive five hundred dollars when an abstract is accepted,
an additional one thousand dollars when they convert that abstract to a paper,
and another two hundred dollars when that manuscript is accepted for publication.
This is in addition to an annual book fund of eight hundred dollars. You may be apprehensive
about starting residency and pathology we have developed a two month long boot camp where
first-year residents are taught the basics, so the start to residency is easy enjoyable and smooth.
Our residents do very well on the boards. From January to June there are after-hour board reviews
in addition to multiple teaching conferences which attendings provide. Our residents find
great fellowships throughout the country. Although we don't like to see them leave, we're proud of
each and every one of them. Our residents are not all about work and no play. Ahmad would
like to highlight this aspect of resident life. DR. ABU QUBO': The residents at UT are regularly
getting together for social activities. Each year, the department hosts a resident retreat
so everyone can get to know the incoming class and reconnect with each other, creating
a tight-knit community. Being in Houston, one of the largest and most diverse cities in the nation,
offers many opportunities. In addition to affordable housing and good schools, with the
numerous museums, parks, theaters, and restaurants available, there's always something to do.
DR. TCHAKAROV: We hope you've enjoyed this overview of our program. We're happy to
answer any questions you might have and we hope you find a good fit for your residency program!