LMP 2202H: Practicum in Surgical Pathology l

For Pathologists' Assistant students in the MHsc in Laboratory Medicine program.

A 0.5 FCE practical hands-on training course taking place at SickKids Hospital.

You will spend 4 full days a week (8 hours per day) at the hospital.

You will initially be shadowing certified pathologist’s assistants (PAs) at workstations throughout the day. You will then have the opportunity to handle surgical specimens under supervision.

This course offers an approach to orientation, inking, cutting, handling, macroscopic description, and processing of pediatric:

  • lung
  • liver (explants and biopsies - including wedges and needle cores)
  • kidney
  • adrenal gland
  • small and large bowel (resections and biopsies)
  • soft tissue specimens (amputations for sarcomas and biopsies)
  • lymph nodes
  • spleen
  • perinatal pathology.

Pediatric liver and tumour biopsies (including sarcomas) are handled by  Medical Lab Technologists (MLTs) and Pathologists at SickKids. You will have the opportunity to observe handling and triaging these specimens.

This course will also include:

  • Pediatric autopsies, particularly how to modify standard post-mortem procedures to demonstrate congenital malformations.
  • An introduction of what tissue should be obtained to assess for cytogenetic and metabolic diseases.
  • Pediatric/ fetal/ infant organ removal including the brain. This includes an introduction to perinatal and pediatric anatomy in addition to proper orientation and dissection of different type of lesions.

This course will provide an emphasis on the importance of gross examination and section submission and how this provides the pathologist with important information pertinent to generate a complete pathology report that will subsequently affect the management plan. 

Course instructors

Course co-coordinator (practicum)

Dr. Iram Siddiqui

iram.siddiqui@sickkids.ca

The course coordinator:

  • develops the curriculum
  • provides lectures that supplement the applied practicum work
  • monitors quality assurance for the course
  • receives teaching assistance from hospital faculty members and from PAs in the applied parts of the curriculum.

Site lead pathologists’ assistant

Konstantin Krutikov

konstantin.krutikov@sickkids.ca

Course co-coordinator (academic half day)

Dr. Christopher Sherman

christopher.sherman@sunnybrook.ca