I read with interest and dismay this forum and the quotes herein. Since a conversation I can barely remember is the source of a misunderstanding that has unfortunately been put in print and perpetuated on this website, I feel compelled to set the record straight. As a faculty member actively involved in resident and fellow education at NIH from 1992 2008, the program is well known to me.
The NIH has a 3 or 4 year AP program that is rich with research opportunities and AP exposure. The faculty is world class and dedicated to resident education. Academic opportunities abound. The residents are smart, motivated and incredibly congenial. The cases are complex and interesting and are worked up to promote both the understanding of disease processes and resident/fellow education. In addition, residents have the unique ability to take a considerable amount of elective time in outside institutions, thereby enhancing their specific or general interests in anatomic pathology or research. The opportunity to study outside the institution is also a chance to be involved first hand in the way pathology is practiced in more than one institution, which is an education in itself.
Residents from the Pathology program at NIH have always had their choice of some of the most competitive fellowships in the country: University of Pennsylvania (surg path), M.D. Anderson (Dermpath), Cleveland Clinic (Dermpath), just to name a few, in the last couple of years. On most occasions, the fellows from NIH fellowships (Cytopathology, Hematopathology) have their choice of not just one, but multiple job offers.
Of those that are invited for interviews at NIH, some applicants may give seminars. These seminars offer fledgling pathology applicants the ability to present their research to NIH scientists and represent incredible opportunities to make contacts, find potential research collaborations and foster professional friendships.
A career in pathology represents a lifetime of learning, and professional growth as this is a field of tremendous challenges, opportunities and medical advancement. It is hard to know as a medical student what you will want to do for the rest of your career. Your choice of residency program and the experiences you have over the next few years will have a tremendous influence on your professional path. You owe it to yourself to find the program that is the best personal fit for you. This is something that can be found only from first hand visits, and certainly not from website blogs.