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Loyola University Medical CenterDepartment of PathologyFrequently Asked Questions

PGY-1 Orientation Month• First month of residency/July is the onboarding/orientation month for our PGY-1s– Broken into two weeks of Anatomic Pathology and two weeks of Clinical Pathology– Seen as an introduction to pathology, and used to ease the transition from medical school to residency– AP topics/activities:• Lectures from attendings on basic histology and overview of their service• Introduction to grossing basics using fruit and Play-Doh • PGY-1s learn how to perform autopsies, how to cut a frozen section, and the grossing of basic specimens– CP topics/activities:• Tours of all of the labs• Introductory lectures from attendings• Spend a day/two days on each service to learn flow of service– Additional topics/activities:• Scavenger hunt for common places/items around hospital and department• Learning how to use computer system, digital pathology slide scanner, EMR, etc. • Assist residents with on-boarding requirements, paperwork, modules, etc. • Provide resident with some free time to take care of non-hospital items if necessary

Grossing and Frozen Schedule• Grossing:– PGY1s-2s: One to two afternoons per week – PGY3s-4s: Zero to one afternoons per week– 1:30 pm start– 6:30 pm cutoff (recently established cutoff and the residents LOVE it) • Frozen Weeks:– PGY1s – 5 weeks per year– PGY2s – 4 weeks per year– PGY3s – 3 weeks per year– PGY4s – 1 week per year

Call Schedule• Surgical Pathology Call:– 1 evening call per week (5:00 pm to 8:00 am), when on surgical pathology rotation• Monday through Thursday• Responsibilities = late night frozen sections– Frozen resident:• Friday evening (5 pm) until Monday morning (8 am)• Responsibilities = Finish up specimens from the week on Saturday AM (cut-off time 2:00 pm for grossing), and any frozen sections that may happen over the weekend (typically Saturday AM when you are already at the hospital)• Clinical Pathology Call:– Begins in PGY-2 year– ENTIRE call from home– One week at a time– Responsible for transfusion reactions/Blood Bank questions, critical lab values, etc. – Often very light call, many residents have had numerous weeks with zero pages• Autopsy “Call”:– Friday evening (5 pm) until Monday morning (8 am)– Phrased “call” because Loyola does not perform weekend autopsies – Responsibilities = Letting the clinical team be aware that we know there is an autopsy and will perform it on Monday. Answering any questions the clinical team has regarding autopsies.

Typical Lecture Schedule• 8 AM Lectures:– Monday: Surgical Pathology lecture series– Tuesday: Free or used for resident-led sessions, Dermpath Club, HemepathClub, etc. – Wednesday: Clinical Pathology lecture series– Thursday: Hemepath lecture series– Friday: Surgical Pathology Unknowns• 12 pm Lectures:– Monday and Friday: Slots used for resident presentations (Journal Club, AP/CP Presentations, CP Unknowns, etc.)– Tuesday: Cytology Lecture Series – including CIBAS Club (Jeopardy-style fun game based on chapters of the big Cytopathology book)– Thursday: Show and Tell or California Tumor Board → Either residents share interesting cases from the week or go over CTB unknown slides***Lectures are considered protected time for the residents***

Example Lecture Week Schedule

Living Near LoyolaAdditional benefit of Loyola!– Residents have the ability to choose many different areas to live – big city, “smaller city” in Oak Park, and many surrounding suburbs– Plenty of opportunities to rent or buy– Salary at Loyola = competitive with all Chicago programs

Living Near Loyola• Chicago:– Typical neighborhoods residents live in: Wicker Park, West Loop, Downtown/The Loop, Lincoln Park, and River West– Can find affordable housing options– Typical drive = 30-40 minutes (Loyola is located ~10 miles west)– Blue line train to/from Loyola (takes about 60-75 minutes with Loyola Shuttle from train stop to hospital)– Great food scene, museums, sports, cultural activities, art, etc.

Living Near Loyola• Oak Park:– Small city outside of Chicago –many different housing options– Typically slightly cheaper than Chicago– Typical drive = 8-10 minutes– Green line train available from Oak Park to downtown Chicago– Don’t need a car to get to Loyola– Restaurants, shops, entertainment, etc.

Living Near Loyola• Suburbs around Loyola:– Typical suburbs residents live in: Elmhurst, Schaumburg, Berwyn, Downers Grove, Lisle, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Naperville, etc. – Many options from buying a house to renting apartments– Typical drive = can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how far away from hospital you live– Car advisable if living in suburbs

In-House Fellowships• Surgical Pathology:– 2 fellows per year– Fellowship Director: Dr. Xiuxu Chen• Cytopathology:– 2 fellows per year– Fellowship Director: Dr. Guliz Barkan• Dermatopathology: – 1 fellow per year– Fellowship Director: Dr. Jodi Speiser• Hematopathology:– 2 fellows per year– Fellowship Director: Dr. Kamran MirzaComing soon: Blood Bank/Transfusion Medicine Fellowship!

Mentorship• Buddy System– Every PGY-1 is buddied up with a PGY-2– PGY-2 assists PGY-1 with day-to-day activities, answers any questions, and helps ease the onboarding process – PGY-2 is paired with PGY-1 on first evening call and weekend call• Attending Mentorship– PGY-1 chooses an attending as a mentor in beginning months of their first year– Residents officially meet with their mentors every 6 months– However, many residents meet with their mentors more often– Provide guidance on research, fellowships, future job opportunities, etc.

Teaching Opportunities & Research• Teaching Opportunities– PathElective – Resident-led sessions teaching 15-20 students per month– In-House rotating students – 3-5 rotating students each month with opportunities to teach/work with them – Stritch Medical School – Opportunity to teach labs, grossing, and autopsy demonstrations– Teaching of junior residents• Research– Plenty of research opportunities in subspecialties of interest– Attendings very approachable for research– Research isn’t mandatory, but encouraged– Loyola frequently has resident presentations, posters, and awards at major conferences such as CAP, USCAP, ASDP, ASC, etc. – Center for Translational Research and Education on the Loyola Medical Campus

Check out these free resources created by Loyola! Always ways to get involved at Loyola!• PathElective– Pathelective.com• PathPod– Pathpod.podbean.com• Path_SIG– @Path_SIG• Virtual Pathology Grand Rounds– @VirtualPathGR• Digital Communications in Pathology Fellowship– @DCF_path• See, Test, and Treat– https://foundation.cap.org/get-involved/see-test-treat-program/

Contact InformationPlease feel free to email with any questions or comments you may have!Brandon ZelmanChief ResidentBrandon.Zelman@luhs.orgAayushma RegmiAssistant Chief ResidentAayushma.Regmi@luhs.org