Emergency Medicine

As a medical student on Emergency Medicine clerkship, there are opportunities to see clinical pathology, but not much anatomic pathology. Actual times you may regularly interact with pathology include trauma or drug-related deaths. When a patient comes into the ER and dies as a result (direct or indirect) of an accident, crime, or medical misadventure, the medical examiner is involved. A lot of diseases that you diagnose in Emed end up having pathology studies performed- they routinely admit patients with new cancers, surgical diseases, and hematologic disorders- these patients all eventually have pathology involved because of their diagnoses (and Emed doctors are often cc’ed on the reports). For Emergency medicine, you can check Pathology and Lab reports on EPIC as part of the work-up.

1. Suspected transfusion reactions, a need for emergent reversal of anticoagulation, and difficult transfusion situations as in HbSS patients will require the expertise of Transfusion Medicine pathologists.
2. In rare cases, hematopathology may be asked to review a blood smear emergently for something like TTP, which requires immediate intervention- but most hematopath questions are nonemergent and addressed on the inpatient side.
3. Pheresis for blast crises or sickle cell crises. Opportunity to do a Transfusion Medicine elective x 3 weeks.
4. Opportunity to do an elective at the Office of the Chief Medical examiner (currently on hold).

Self-study modules from Baylor integrating high-value care/lab testing with clerkship content