As of July 1, 2024, The Mass General Brigham (MGB) Cytopathology Fellowship program represents a newly combined merger of the two longstanding fellowship programs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and seeks to train individuals who will become leaders in the field of cytopathology.
This fellowship provides one full year of advanced training in diagnostic cytology and the performance of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in an FNA clinic. The MGB Cytopathology Fellowship programs will provide fellows with an expanded mix of cases and variety of educational opportunities. Time during each academic year will be divided equally between BWH and MGH, with a combined didactic calendar and participation in multidisciplinary conferences at both institutions.
The BWH and MGH cytology services evaluate approximately 32,000 and 23,000 gynecologic and 13,000 and 16,500 non-gynecologic specimens, respectively. The latter include pathologist-performed FNAs, pathology review for patients treated at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, and pathologist personal consults. Each institution has a pathologist operated FNA clinic that offers experience with a variety of patients and aspiration techniques.
Fellows will assume the review and work-up of clinical cases, performance of FNAs, and assist with rapid on-site evaluations (ROSE) of needle aspirations performed by radiologists, pulmonologists, and gastroenterologists. Experience with screening slides and cytopreparatory techniques are incorporated into the curriculum. Responsibility will increase gradually throughout the year with the goal of training skilled cytopathologists who excel in any practice setting. After an introductory period, fellows will participate in supervised sign out, consisting of one-on-one sign out with rotating Anatomic Pathology Residents, independent work-up of cases, and review of challenging cases with the attending pathologist. Fellows will also perform a proportion of ROSE and FNAs independently.
Formal teaching of pathology residents and participation in departmental and multidisciplinary conferences is required. A monthly joint journal club hosted by BWH, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and MGH allows for review and discussion of current topics in the cytopathology literature. Opportunities to teach medical students attending Harvard Medical School in courses are also available.
Fellows are encouraged to design and complete a research project under the guidance of a faculty member; presentation of these projects at national pathology conferences is also encouraged. Departmental resources include the immunohistochemistry and molecular diagnostic labs, among others in the Harvard research community.
Preference will be given to candidates who are Board certified or eligible for certification by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic pathology or anatomic and clinical pathology and who have demonstrated an interest in pursuing an academic career in cytopathology. Applicants must be eligible for a Massachusetts medical license.
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