Graduated responsibility for pathology residents

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23544934

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2013 Apr;137(4):457-61. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2012-0161-ED.

Graduated responsibility for pathology residents: no time for half measures.

Allen TC.

Source

From the Department of Pathology, University of Texas Health Science Center, Tyler.

For more than half a decade the pathology community has been discussing initiating robust, graduated resident responsibilities.1,11–13 As Talbert and colleagues12 said 3 years ago: ‘‘The time to act is now.’’ ‘‘Didactic lectures, teaching conferences (intradepartmental and interdepartmental), and teaching aids. . . do not substitute for real-time experience in [anatomic pathology].’’12 Graduated responsibility will be an important measure in eliminating disparities, and although transitioning to genuine graduated resident responsibility ‘‘will be a major adjustment for residents, fellows, and supervising faculty. . .,’’13 it annot be achieved with half measures. ‘‘The risks of maintaining the status quo are very high, not the east of which is loss of traditional pathology duties to other specialties.’’12 Current training practices for athology residents are unsustainable, and as Paul Campos, JD, Above the Law’s 2011 Lawyer of the ear, said, ‘‘[W]hen you have an unsustainable business model you have to change or die.’’25