Simran Sekhon Mashiana, MD (PGY-4)

Welcome to the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Pathology! I am the current chief resident for the academic year of 2020-2021. I've been with the program and the university for a number of years, so I can tell you a fair amount about the program, and what we do well. 

Training at UNMC is a traditional four year combined AP/CP program. While here, you will experience a mix of AP/CP courses, equally distributed throughout the academic year. On the surgical side, we are a large regional academic center with a case volume that has been rapidly expanding to over 50,000 cases a year. As a regional center, we have a very diverse specimen portfolio with plenty of zebras. Our grossing experience is very pleasant with multiple pathology assistants on staff, who are knowledgeable, helpful, and pleasant. As such our grossing hours are quite reasonable. 

On the CP side, our status as a regional medical center means we have very robust CP services, including a busy apheresis/cellular therapies program. Our transfusion medicine training is excellent. We offer an extremely robust menu of clinical laboratory tests, including a state of the art toxicology lab. Our microbiology program is similarly advanced, with mass-spectrometry analysis and many of the new generation PCR cyclers (Biofire, etc). We are one of the few medical centers in the country with a clinical microbiology fellowship program, and our micro fellows are extremely knowledgeable and eager to help our residents learn.  

If you were to ask me what our greatest strengths are, I would tell you it is a combination of the vast volume of specimens we see and the lifestyle of our residents. Many of our residents (myself included) support a family, something made much easier by the low cost of living and generous benefits offered by the university. Finally, residents have a strong support system behind them composed of gross room staff, technologists, fellows and attending pathologists who are dedicated to our education in order for residents to make the quick, 4 year transition into practicing, successful pathologists. Again, thank you for your interest and we look forward to meeting you!