How would you describe the culture of your residency?
Our goal is to train a well-rounded pathologist who can: 1. act as an effective diagnostic and clinical consultant, 2. critically assess medical literature and research, 3. function independently without direct supervision as a valued physician in any setting. To accomplish this goal, and to prepare residents to obtain certification by the American Board of Pathology, our program offers a wealth of clinical material, an outstanding subspecialty faculty, and up-to-date facilities in a structured but flexible educational environment. Core rotations in Anatomic, Clinical, and Molecular Pathology are augmented by elective opportunities that encourage development of subspecialty expertise. Research activity is encouraged, and many opportunities are available.
How has your program supported resident wellness?
There is a large focus on wellness within the department and residency program. In particular, the Institute and CCF as a whole are to be commended for their proactive response to mental wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as their receptiveness to feedback. Steps within the residency program to promote well-being of residents include:
Attention to work hours
Education about signs of fatigue and offering call rooms for naps and/or reimbursement for an Uber home
Promotion of the Caring for Caregivers program which offers free mental health services and wellness resources
Random Acts of Kindness committee which is a resident-run committee that provides breakfast and lunches, birthday gift cards, and organizes periodic social activities to allow residents and faculty to decompress
Periodic events hosted by the Program Directors to promote camaraderie within the residency program
The program has two Resident Representatives for the House Staff Association Wellness Council. The HSA Wellness Council representatives meet a couple of times per year to collaborate and improve wellness initiatives across CCF for trainees
Three weeks of vacation time with few restrictions on when and how it may be used, in addition to five leave of absence days. Residents have a leave of absence day designated for personal health care, the program works flexibly to find coverage for emergencies.
Daily emailed inspirational quote of the day during COVID-19 pandemic
How has your program supported diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) either at your institution or in the surrounding community?
Our residency program is very diverse. We have 28 residents currently, who are 54% female, 46% US grads (including 4 DO physicians), and 54% international medical grads from 9 different countries. The Cleveland Clinic Pathology Department has a very diverse faculty and non-physician personal including individuals from racial and ethnic minorities.
What are unique features of your program that you would like to highlight?
Our pathology residency program at Cleveland Clinic is different from other training programs in several ways. Our trainees experience exceptionally large volumes of cases in both anatomic and clinical pathology. These cases range from “bread and butter” to esoteric subjects. Our program is also a genuine mix of patient care focused work and scholarly pursuits with approximately half of graduates pursuing community practice positions and the other half entering academia. The alternating AP/CP/AP/CP annual structure of the program is a unique approach as well. Our program is special in the diversity of residents from many countries around the globe. We differentiate ourselves from other programs by encouraging, but not demanding, research involvement, by providing funds for travel and books, and by facilitating one-on-one experiences with world thought leaders in many pathology subspecialty areas.
Is there any advice that you would like to share with the LMSA community?
Please see our program website for more information about our program. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/pathology/medical-professionals/residency-program . You can also follow us on social media to learn more. Follow us @ccfpathres on both Instagram and Twitter!
Contact:
Email: SMITHK35@ccf.org
Name: Kristen Smith