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Our residency program in either anatomic or clinical pathology prepares students to take the board exam of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. It is a three-year, non-degree graduate program that leads to an official University of Georgia certificate of residency.
You will choose between anatomic or clinical pathology. Residents take courses relevant to their training in diagnostic pathology. They also must spend time rotating through several service rotations to become well-versed in the various areas of diagnostic pathology, and as preparation for the ACVP board examination. Residents actively participate in seminars, pathology rounds, and teaching of veterinary students and junior residents.
Stipends are provided by the department for a limited number of pathology residents and graduate students. In addition, there are students supported by government grants and pharmaceutical companies.
Students have the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with many of the CVM units that the department of pathology supports – UGA’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, the Georgia Aquarium, the UGA Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, local USDA facilities, the Centers for Disease Control, Yerkes Primate Center, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, and Zoo Atlanta.
The department maintains necropsy, histopathology, clinical pathology, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and electron microscopy services. The College maintains central facilities for flow cytometry, confocal and immunofluorescence microscopy, and laboratory animal medicine. The University provides central facilities for molecular genetics and bioinformatics
We offer both a combined residency/graduate program and a certificate residency program, the availability of which varies from year to year (See ACVP web site for specific postings). The residency program is three years in duration, while the typical combined program lasts five years. Both programs are designed to meet eligibility requirements for board certification by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.
Courses Offered
Courses offered in this program include:
Less formal preparatory sessions, such as Gross Review, Journal Clubs, and AFIP slide review, are also routinely offered. Residents are also required to rotate through the Clinical Pathology and Ophthalmologic Pathology Services. There are also opportunities to rotate through our Comparative Pathology service and the Emory University Yerkes Primate Center.
Diagnostic Service
The primary sources of case material supporting the residency training program are the College’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory necropsy service, and the Department’s mail-in, and Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology services. These sources account for roughly 3600 necropsy, biopsy, and zoo and exotic animal cases annually which ensures residents a robust experience in surgical and diagnostic pathology in a wide variety of species. Over the course of their program, residents are required to perform 24 weeks of necropsy duty, 27 weeks of biopsy duty, and nine weeks in the Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology Service. Residents work closely with faculty pathologists, performing necropsies and conducting histopathologic evaluations of necropsy and biopsy specimens. Eighteen anatomic pathologists and five clinical pathologists, including those with special interests in wildlife, aquatics, exotic animals, and poultry, are involved in instruction of residents.
Teaching, Presentations, and Publications
Residents are required to teach sophomore veterinary students in general pathology and systemic pathology laboratory sessions for at least two semesters. Yearly presentations in the histopathology seminar series and at the Southeastern Veterinary Pathologist Conference are also required. Residents are also highly encouraged to present at the ACVP or AAVLD conferences. At least one case report or other publication is also expected before completing the program.
We offer both a non-degree residency program and a combined residency/graduate degree program. When available, these positions are posted on the ACVP and ASVCP websites. The residency only and combined residency/MS degree programs are three years in duration, whereas the residency/PhD program typically last five to six years. All programs are designed to meet eligibility requirements for board certification by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists. Interested applicants must possess a DVM or equivalent degree and provide evidence of academic strength and interest in clinical pathology. A preference is given to candidates with one or more years of post-doctoral clinical experience or who have completed an internship. Residents are directly supervised by four board-certified clinical pathologists and 19 anatomic pathologists, including those with special interests in wildlife, aquatics, exotic animals and poultry.
Courses Offered
Courses offered in this program include:
Additional courses required of clinical pathology residents include:
Residents are also required to attend less formal sessions within the clinical pathology department (cytology rounds, journal clubs, chemistry seminars) as well as those offered in the anatomic pathology, medicine and oncology departments.
Diagnostic Service
The residency involves intensive training in all aspects of veterinary clinical pathology, including hematology, clinical chemistry and cytology. This program is unique in that it also incorporates formal instruction on surgical biopsy. Residents are expected to complete an average of 18 weeks of clinical duty per year with additional time spent learning laboratory instrumentation and quality control practices. Clinical responsibilities include providing cytology and histopathology service, reviewing blood smears and hematology data, and interpreting clinical chemistry data. The primary caseload comes from the College’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, but mail-in cases from private practitioners are also received.
Teaching, Presentations, and Publications
Residents have the opportunity to teach sophomore veterinary students in the clinical pathology didactic course and they teach senior veterinary student in the clinical pathology rotation. These courses enable the resident to develop teaching skills in lecture-based, laboratory, and small-group formats. Active participation in college seminars and at least one presentation at a national meeting (such as ACVP, AAVLD or ACVIM) are required for successful completion of the residency. Additional requirements include the development and completion of a residency or graduate degree research project and submission of a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Attendance and presentation at regional meetings such as the Southeastern Veterinary Pathologist Conference are also encouraged.
To apply for one of our residency programs, the following residency application materials must be sent electronically in PDF format to Ms. Amanda Wages at awages@uga.edu: curriculum vitae, statement of professional goals, and unofficial veterinary school transcripts. Each file should be labeled with the applicant’s last name and file contents (e.g., Stanton_CV.pdf). Three letters of reference are also required, but they may be emailed separately. For the application to be considered, concurrent application to the UGA Graduate school (including official veterinary school transcripts) for the Certificate in Veterinary Pathology Program (residency only) or the Master of Science (MS) or PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences (if desired) must also be submitted through the Graduate school website.
