Each year, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine offers a one-year fellowship position for Larner College of Medicine medical students who have completed some or all of their clinical core rotations. Successful completion of the Pathology Student Fellowship, which includes intern-level clinical duties intermixed with Graduate College course work, will culminate in the awarding of a Master's degree in Pathology from the University of Vermont Graduate College. At the conclusion of the Fellowship, the student will rejoin the Larner College of Medicine to complete the remainder of their clinical rotations.

The Pathology Student Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for students looking to enhance their knowledge of applied pathophysiology and laboratory medicine, to get involved in research, and to strengthen their CV for residency applications, regardless of specialty interest. Students chose to participate for many reasons; curiosity about Pathology, but unsure if it’s the right choice for them, others applying into Pathology, and many others who pursue other specialties.

1. Enhance the student's knowledge of pathology as a basic science and as a field of medical practice.
2. Educate students in the appropriate use of laboratory information in clinical problem solving.
3. Design a program that will take into consideration the unique needs and interests of each student.
4. Introduce students to the principles of basic and applied research.

For the Student not pursuing Pathology the fellowship is still a great opportunity.

• Surgery: Understand what happens when you send a specimen to pathology, or what exactly happens during an intraoperative frozen section. Gain confidence in interpretation of pathology reports, which you will ultimately explain to your patients as a surgeon! Fully understand what happens when a patient needs a blood transfusion. Develop a familiarity with anatomy through autopsy.
• Medicine: Gain knowledge of what impacts the results of the laboratory studies you order from CBCs to blood cultures, and what impacts the timeline of the tests that you order. Get to know your pathologists, who can act as guides in what laboratory tests to order and how to interpret the results. Gain experience in autopsies, a process which you may find yourself explaining to family members in obtaining consents. Gain confidence in blood products and understand what goes on behind the scenes when you order a type and screen or cross match!
• Hematology/Oncology: Learn how various cancers are staged and what goes into reading bone marrow biopsies for leukemia patients. Fully understand what happens when a patient needs a blood transfusion. Spend time in the genomics department and understand the genetic testing and karyotyping performed on tumors to identify appropriate therapies. Gain exposure to the histopathology of tumors in surgical pathology, and gain confidence in understanding the pathology reports, or discussions at tumor boards.
• Obstetrics and Gynecology: Understand what happens when you send a specimen to pathology, or what exactly happens during an intraoperative frozen section. Learn how a fetal screen and Kleihauer-Betke are performed to determine how much Rh immune globulin to administer. Learn about placental pathology and participate in a fetal autopsy.