Joanna Askren

About Joanna Askren

With a robust foundation in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology, my role at…

Experience

1. Surgical Pathology Fellow

   UCLA Health

   Jun 2015 — Present

   Surgical Pathology Fellow FNA | Medical Reporting | Patient Education | Physician Relations Olive View – UCLA Medical CenterSylmar, CA 2015 – PresentI am completing a surgical pathology fellowship, including cytology and the performance of fine needle aspirations, frozen sections, surgical specimens, and biopsies.Some of my achievements include:→ SURGICAL PATHOLOGY | I perform palpation guided FNA, review patients’ medical history and any medications prior to procedure, perform autopsies, grossing surgical specimens, and photograph specimens. I gained exposure to ultrasound guided FNA. I examine biopsies and view specimens under a microscope.→ PATIENT EDUCATION | I educate patients and families by discussing FNA procedure, side effects, limitations, and potential issues to look for after procedure. I answer any follow-up question in detail and screen general surgical pathology questions that come into our front office.→ PHYSICIAN RELATIONS AND MEDICAL REPORTING | I communicate with medical teams, including discussing frozen section results with requesting surgeon, calling any critical findings into ordering physician, and answering questions from clinicians who call about cases. I review outside consult reports, FISH reports, and flow results.→ LEADERSHIP | I oversee and orient new medical center fellow and monthly fellows from UCLA in department processes and procedures and provide computer and electronic medical records guidance. I conduct 100% of monthly multidisciplinary breast conferences and run pathology portion of weekly tumor board about 75% of the time. I coordinate department’s Neuropathology conferences.

Education

• David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

  MD, Medicine

  1996 — 2000

• University of California, Riverside

  BS, Biomedical Sciences

  1993 — 1996