ELECT ENEUR - Neuropathology

Primary Goals of Elective:

The goal of this elective is to expose the student to the techniques and practice of neuropathology, gaining familiarity with neuropathologic, neurologic, and neurosurgical terminology, physiology, and a variety of central nervous system diseases, neurosurgical lesions and tumors. This goal is achieved through regular attendance at sign out, active participation in assigned activities, self-directed reading assignments.

Specific Objectives:

Patient Care

• Independently collect clinical information by reviewing the patient’s electronic health record and reviewing any clinical photos
• Assist in grossing of neuropathology cases
• Attend intraoperative frozen sections. Assist in the grossing, freezing, cutting, and staining of frozen sections.
• Formulate a preliminary diagnosis
• Suggest appropriate diagnostic tests relevant to the histopathologic evaluation.

Medical Knowledge

• Become familiar with the clinical and radiographic presentation of common neuropathologic diseases.
• Formulate a differential diagnosis based on the clinical presentation, neuroradiology imaging,  and histopathology.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

• Communicate with residents and faculty on the anatomic pathology service.
• Write organized, appropriately focused, and accurate clinical information.

Professionalism

• Demonstrate personal accountability, integrity, compassion, respect, altruism, and empathy when interacting with all members of the health care team, patients and their families, in order to provide the best patient care
• Demonstrate punctuality and ability to complete patient care tasks efficiently

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

• Demonstrate self-directed learning in daily practice
  • Identify strengths, deficiencies, and limits in one’s knowledge and clinical skills through self-evaluation
  • Develop a plan for improvement, perform appropriate learning activities, solicit and incorporate feedback
• Demonstrate evidence-based clinical practice
  • Access appropriate resources to answer clinical questions
  • Critically appraise relevant literature and incorporate it  into patient care

Systems-Based Practice

• Demonstrate the appropriate utilization of ancillary testing, and utilize clinical-pathologic correlation.
• Develop an understanding of the clinical impact of pathologic diagnoses.

• Students must be present every weekday.  Students are allowed one excused absences during the 2 week rotation. This excused absence must be approved by the course director.  Any additional absences must be approved by the course director and must be made up before the semester is completed.  Students will receive an incomplete until such absences have been made up.  Make-up days are at the discretion of the Course Director.

• Participating Faculty: Dr. Hidehiro Takei, Dr. Areli K Cuevas-Ocampo
• Reference Textbooks: There are numerous other books in our resident sign out room and in the individual libraries of Drs. Cuevas-Ocampo and Takei. These books can be made available to rotating fellows/residents with special arrangement. The recommended references include:
  • 1. WHO Classification of CNS Tumors, 5^th Ed. (Louis et al 2021)
  • 2. Practical Surgical Pathology (Perry & Brat)
  • 3. Diagnostic Neuropathology (Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, Fausto Rodriguez, T. Tihan)
  • 4. Smears and Frozen Sections in Neuropathology (Peter Burger)
  • 5. Greenfield’s Neuropathology (Graham & Lantos)
  • 6. Neuropathology: A reference text of CNS pathology (Ellison, Love)
  • 7. Neuropathology (Prayson)
  • 8. Neuropathology High Yield Pathology Series (Yachnis)
  • 13. https://neuropathology-web.org/
  • 14. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/

• Participate in the gross examination of neuropathology surgical specimens.
• Participate in intraoperative frozen sections.
• Review clinical history and any clinical photos via the EMR
• Formulate a preliminary diagnosis and differential diagnosis
• Review all cases with the faculty assigned to each surgical case.
• Attend all pathology resident required didactics/teaching conferences
• Report to the course director after 4:00 each day

• The medical student will be evaluated by the faculty and/or residents who are assigned to rotation during the same time as the medical student.