Pathology Training for Medical Students | NYU Langone Health

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Department of Pathology Education Pathology Training for Medical Students

Pathology Training for Medical Students

NYU Grossman School of Medicine offers students enrolled in an MD degree program the opportunity to gain focused experience in pathology through coursework, pathology electives, research concentrations, and our summer fellowship.

Core concepts taught by faculty in the Department of Pathology are heavily featured in the first 18 months of the MD degree program. Pathology is integrated into introductory courses such as DNA, Organelles, and Cells; Infection and Immunity; and Living Anatomy, a course that combines anatomy, histology, pathology, embryology, and radiology.

These courses segue into learning modules that focus on physiology, pathology, and pathophysiology across human organ systems, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal, endocrine and reproductive, nervous, musculoskeletal, hematologic, and dermatologic. Concepts of disease are approached in an organ system–based, multidisciplinary manner centered around problem solving, with an emphasis on the contribution of pathology to patient management.

As a medical student, you can participate in special experiences relating to pathology such as training at the New York Simulation Center for the Health Sciences, where you perform fine-needle aspirations on thyroid nodules in the necks of simulation trainers. You also learn techniques related to rapid staining of slides and review cytology results under the supervision of pathology residents and attending physicians. In another simulation exercise, you visit the Clinical Hematology Laboratory for a simulation leukemia workup, and interpret the smear and flow cytometry results to render a diagnosis. You also streak the simulation patient’s blood culture on a microbiology blood agar plate and interpret the results of bacterial growth.

An understanding of fundamental biological principles and their practical applications helps you build a strong scientific foundation as you continue into your clerkship year and beyond.

Pathology Electives for Medical Students

The Department of Pathology offers electives for medical students in the clerkship years, including courses in Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Microbiology as well as a Radiology–Anatomic Pathology course we host in conjunction with the Department of Radiology.

Pathology Research Concentrations for Medical Students

The Department of Pathology currently offers concentrations in a variety of research areas under the mentorship of members of our faculty. Projects are developed in partnership with a clinical faculty member whenever possible.

Students spend 12 weeks in a laboratory pursuing basic science or translational research, or 8 weeks in a laboratory and 4 weeks in a clinical elective related to the research topic.

Students should email Christopher M. William, MD, PhD, at christopher.william@nyulangone.org with questions about pathology research concentrations or to discuss working with members of our faculty.