Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the Pathology Program.

Our residency program was started in 1983;  just one year after ETSU's Quillen College of Medicine graduated its first class, and has been continuously accredited by the ACGME since that time.

The primary mission of this residency program is to produce board certified pathologists who are able to effectively and competently enter the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine as generalists, and are well-prepared to seek advanced fellowship training if they are interested in specialization. To that end, we focus on the combined anatomic and clinical pathology (AP/CP) track, and have a total of eight residents in the program (two per class).

Our program's vision is to provide excellent training in a nurturing and supportive environment fully focused on the individual resident’s success.

Our program's values are:

  • Scholarship and nurture: A supportive environment that promotes teaching, learning, and the expansion and propagation of knowledge.
  • Trust and collaboration as a basis of relationships.
  • Transparency in decision making and administrative actions.
  • We are committed to continuous improvement.

Program Aims:

  1. Provide a broad-based training to enable residents to be become competent pathologists who are effective diagnosticians and clinical consultants.
  2. Educate residents so that they are well prepared for specialty fellowship training.
  3. Foster the habit of life-long learning and the ability to critically assess the medical literature.
  4. Sustain the program’s nurturing and supportive culture that is committed to the personal and professional growth, and well-being of the individual resident.
  5. Provide opportunities for residents to develop leadership and management skills.

For the most part, training occurs at Johnson City Medical Center (our primary training site), the James H Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the James H Quillen College of Medicine at ETSU. These facilities are closely located together in a beautiful campus setting. The combined annual workload includes approximately 3,809,666 laboratory tests, 40,504 surgical specimens, 40,209 cytology specimens, and 701 autopsies (including 675 forensic autopsies from the William Jenkins Forensic Center, which is a division of the Department of Pathology). The quantity and breadth of the clinical material allows for a well-rounded education in all aspects of pathology. 

We are passionate about pathology and about training pathology residents. Our program offers residents a supportive and nurturing learning environment with focus on the individual resident's educational objectives. With some exceptions, our faculty members tend to be generalists with expertise in a subspecialty. This allows the resident to be exposed to a wide variety of material in the random order typical of generalist practices, but at the same time having subspecialty expertise readily available for consultation. Residents participate in the academic and scholarly activities of the Department of Pathology and its affiliated hospitals. 

We are located in an area endowed with a moderate climate and natural beauty with abundant outdoor recreational opportunities available year-round. Johnson City offers many of the amenities one expects in urban centers, but retains the feel of a small university town.

We hope that you will give our program serious consideration. If after exploring our website you still have any questions, we would be delighted to answer them.

With best wishes,

Photo of Salah Shurbaji, M.D.

Salah Shurbaji, M.D.

Professor and Chair, Director of Pathology Residency Program
shurbaji@etsu.edu

 

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