Pathology Residency & Fellowship Training Program

Educational Goals & Philosophy

Woman working in labThe primary aim is to provide residents with a well-balanced curriculum so that they are able to provide high quality patient services as practicing pathologists both in clinical and anatomic pathology. To accomplish this, residents rotate through all the major service areas in the hospital that are staffed by pathologists. The secondary aim is to provide adequate flexibility to the developing trainees so that they may prepare themselves for a wide variety of specialized services that pathologists perform. To accomplish this, residents are given the opportunity to concentrate in specific areas in the advanced stages of their training. After four years of AP/CP training, our graduates are ready for practicing general AP/CP or instead join a fellowship program to acquire further skills in one of the AP or CP subspecialties.

While much learning occurs during the performance of service work, it is understood that the real purpose of the trainee is to acquire knowledge from the performance of these tasks. It is the responsibility of the faculty to mentor the residents to become life-long learners in pathology and to go beyond just getting the work done. Residents share responsibility for their training by demonstrating willingness and enthusiasm for probing as deeply as possible, taking full advantage of all opportunities provided to them, and striving to function as independently as possible at each level of training.

The University of Texas Medical Branch, home to the first medical school in Texas, has been at the forefront of educational, research and clinical excellence since 1891. For more than 120 years, UTMB has graduated more health professionals, including physicians, nurses, allied health professionals and researchers, than any other academic health center in the state.

More than 3,000 students currently are enrolled in UTMB's four schools: the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Nursing and the School of Health Professions. In addition, approximately 560 interns, residents, and fellows are receiving graduate medical training. UTMB's John Sealy Hospital in Galveston is home to a Level l Trauma Center, serving a nine-county area with a total population of more than 1.25 million people. UTMB's new $438 million Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston opened in 2016 and offers private rooms in a patient- and family-centered environment that brings a unique approach to healing.

More than 80 UTMB clinics at 30 locations promote wellness through prevention, and provide residents of the rapidly growing Bay Area and Galveston with access to a full range of primary and specialty care. More expansion is on the way, with plans for a new addition to the UTMB Specialty Care Center at Victory Lakes in League City and completely renovated hospital beds in the John Sealy Hospital.

UTMB researchers are renowned worldwide for excellence in aging-related chronic diseases, neuroscience, cardiology, cancer, asthma, burns and infectious diseases/vaccines. UTMB's Galveston National Laboratory, one of two National Biocontainment Laboratories built under grants awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health, was completed in June 2008 and offers ample space for research with the most infectious agents known to mankind such Ebola virus, other viral hemorrhagic fevers, rickettsial pathogens, etc. The GNL and the attached Keiller Building are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for basic and translational research.

This storied institution was born through the generosity of Galveston magnate John Sealy, who, upon his death, made a $50,000 bequest to benefit a charitable purpose in Galveston. His brother, George Sealy and widow Rebecca Sealy, invested that legacy in the creation of the first John Sealy Hospital in 1889. The first building in Texas to house an entire medical school, the Ashbel Smith Building (pictured on the cover) opened in 1891, with 23 students and 13 faculty. Affectionately known as "Old Red" due to its distinctive ruddy brick, granite and sandstone exterior, it was built by renowned architect Nicholas C. Clayton, who also designed many other Galveston landmarks.

The John Sealy Training School for Nurses, the first such school west of the Mississippi, opened its doors in 1890 and later became The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing. The School of Health Professions (formerly the School of Allied Health Sciences) was the first allied health school in the Southwest United States when it opened its doors in 1968, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences was established in 1969.

UTMB's resiliency was put to the test on Sept. 13, 2008, when Hurricane Ike caused significant flood damage to nearly every building on campus, including the John Sealy Hospital. Revitalization, as well as flood mitigation to protect buildings and resources from future storms, has been on-going. UTMB restored its educational programs within weeks after the hurricane and its research endeavor came back steadily thereafter, proving that "UTMB stops for NO STORM." Today, UTMB Health is committed to better health care and better life for the people of Texas and beyond, well into the future.