CERTIFICATION OF PATHOLOGISTS
The American Board of Pathology is the certifying agency for pathologists in the United States. Certification is a four-step process that documents that a candidate has successfully completed each of the following:
- a course of professional education
- approved residency training
- the application process
- the certification examinations
The candidate must successfully complete the course of study in a medical/osteopathic school accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association or accepted by The American Board of Pathology and must be awarded the doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree.
The candidate must then successfully complete residency training in a program accredited for pathology training by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The interaction with the program director is critical to this phase of the process, because the program director must endorse the candidate as qualified to sit for the examinations.
The application process begins with a written request by the candidate and continues until the candidate has been declared qualified to take the examinations. This process documents the candidate's successful completion of medical education, which includes a copy of a valid, full, and unrestricted license to practice medicine or osteopathy issued by one of the licensing agencies of the United States or Canada. Letters of reference are required from persons who can attest to the candidate's character, abilities, and level of proficiency in the discipline. In addition, the program director must review and sign the application form, thereby verifying that the applicant successfully completed the residency training program and supporting the candidate's request for certification.
The certification examination is the final step in the process. In order to be successful, the candidate must demonstrate adequate knowledge in the discipline by achieving a passing score in the written and practical examinations.
Successful completion of the course of study, the approved residency training, the application process, and the certifying examinations results in the awarding of a certificate attesting to the diplomate status of the candidate.
FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA POSTGRADUATE PATHOLOGY SYMPOSIUM
The Symposium will be held April 21–22, 2001 in Augusta, Georgia. The purpose of the Symposium is to present current information and future perspectives that are applicable to the practice of Pathology.
The Symposium topic will be "Pathology of the Breast" and will feature Dr. Fattaneh A. Tavassoli, Chairperson, Department of Gynecologic and Breast Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C., as major speaker. Pathologists and Residents in Pathology are the targeted audience but Surgeons and Oncologists will also find the Symposium to be informative.
For information, contact William C. Allsbrook, Jr., M.D., Course Director, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912. Telephone 706-721-2594, FAX 706-721-8245, E-mail wallsbro@mail.mcg.edu.
GYNECOLOGIC AND OBSTETRIC PATHOLOGY
April 26–29, 2001. Directed by Robert E. Scully, M.D., Robert H. Young, M.D., and Christopher P. Crum, M.D. at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts.
The Departments of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School will present a four-day postgraduate course in Gynecologic and Obstetric Pathology.
The objective of this course is to provide an in-depth review of gynecologic and obstetric pathology with emphasis on morphologic diagnostic features and clinicopathologic correlation. Upon completion of this course, participants will be familiarized with recent advances in diagnosis and newly recognized entities. Instruction will be primarily by lecture, but will also include discussion periods. Additionally those who register three weeks or more before the course start date will be sent a computer disc containing images that will form the basis for the case presentation session each afternoon. Each participant will receive a comprehensive course syllabus.
The course has Category I accreditation for 30 hours CME credits by the American Medical Association. The fee for the course is $840.00 (residents and fellows, $690.00). For further information contact: Department of Continuing Education, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, Telephone 617-432-1525; Fax 617-432-1562.
MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER CENTER TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL SURGICAL PATHOLOGY OF NEOPLASTIC DISEASES
The Department of Pathology of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center will present the twenty-fourth annual course on The Surgical Pathology of Neoplastic Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Course will be jointly sponsored by MSKCC with the Department of Health and Sciences of the University of Copenhagen together with the Danish Society for Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Cytology.
The meeting will be held in the Lundsgaard Auditorium of Panum Institute, Copenhagen University, located opposite the main Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 3B, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. The registration fee is US $850, $550 for pathologists-in-training, and $300 for single-day attendance.
An inaugural session will be held on Monday, April 30 at the University of Copenhagen followed by a welcome reception sponsored by the mayor and city of Copenhagen. The lectures, beginning Tuesday and concluding Friday, will concentrate on tumors in eight disease management areas.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Elements of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through joint sponsorship of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and The University of Copenhagen Department of Health Sciences and The Danish Society for Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Cytology. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education to physicians.
For further information including course program, please contact: Maureen Flaherty, Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. Tele: 212/639-8338, Fax: 212/772-8521, E-mail: flahertm@mskcc.org, or visit our website at http://www.mskcc.org/medical_professionals/lectures/index.html.
NUTS AND BOLTS PATHOLOGY IN THE STEEL CITY
June 16–17, 2001—The Department of Pathology of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is sponsoring a two-day course for practicing diagnostic pathologists focused on a comprehensive update of new and controversial entities in general surgical pathology using a glass slide case study format. Using glass slides for 35 cases (which are given to attendees) and individual microscopes, participants will study the cases and then be provided with a 20 minute didactic discussion by University of Pittsburgh faculty with nationally recognized expertise in the area. For information please contact the course director Samuel A. Yousem, M.D. or course coordinator Diana Winters at Telephone #: 412-647-6193/Fax #: 412-647-3399/e-mail: wintersdl@msx.upmc.edu.
THE PATHOLOGY OF TUMORS IN CHILDREN
The Institute for Pediatric Medical Education and the Society for Pediatric Pathology (SPP) will jointly sponsor a course on various aspects of the pathology of childhood diseases as part of the 23rd Annual Aspen Conferences on Pediatric Disease. The week-long seminar will be held at the Snowmass Conference Center in Snowmass at Aspen, CO from August 6–10, 2001 under the direction of Drs. Louis P. Dehner and Aliya N. Husain.
This course is designed primarily for general and pediatric pathologists but will be of interest to pediatric surgeons, radiologists, pediatricians and oncologists. A microscopic slide set of 24 cases will be sent to participants prior to the conference, and the cases will be discussed in detail during a series of slide seminars. Participants may also submit cases for a "Case Presentation" session. Faculty members include, L.P. Dehner, J.T. Stocker, A. Husain, M. Zutter, E.J. Perlman, C.M. Coffin and D.M. Parham.
This course, through the SPP, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The SPP certifies that this CME activity meets the criteria for 29 credit hours in category 1 for the Physician's Recognition Award of the American Medical Association.
For further information, see www.PedMedEd.com or contact the Institute for Pediatric Medical Education, 6604 Landon Lane, Bethesda, MD 20817. Tel 301 263-9360 or Fax: 301 229-8338.
Acknowledgements
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