Anesthesia or Pathology?

[Dreammona]

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I'm at a crossroad and plz help!

I originally wanted to do surgery because I loved being in the OR, doing procedures, etc etc, but sobered up after the rotation and no longer wants no having a life.

Reasons I like Anesthesia: procedures/using my hands, always something different, and I love critical care so one day hopefully will do that!

Reasons I like Pathology: I'm a nerd, love seeing all the things I studied in school actually, love how pathologist knows everything, love the technology boom in the diagnostic field.

What should I do? 😳

 

[jenesaispas0005]

I can't speak much for Anesthesia because I never did a gas rotation. But I am going into pathology and can give you a little insight for going that route.

The big thing is that you have to like playing with guts and tissue, because that's what you do for a bulk of your residency. Lots of cutting gross specimens for submission. This isn't just for autopsies--it's for literally every organ and specimen cut out of a patient during surgery and outpatient procedure.

That said, you aren't just sitting at a scope all day in a bubble, not interacting with others. I just have to put it out there because of course, a lot of people still think that's what you do as a pathologist and it's just not true.

But ultimately you have to be 100% okay with virtually no patient interaction, save the occasional FNA biopsy or transfusion patient you have to see. That seems to be the big decision point with a lot of people.

 

[gutonc]

There are about 7 jobs a year (nationwide) available for pathologists. It's not uncommon for people to do 1-3 fellowships (1y each) while they wait for Path jobs to become available or they become the "top" candidate.

Consider that in your calculus.

 

[AnnieGraham]

I apologise for reviving this topic but I am actually facing exactly the same dilemma. 😛 I honestly don't enjoy seeing patients that much 🙂rolleyes🙂 BUT I still love taking care of them especially in the ICU. I also don't like to be in the spotlight so I'd prefer a job where I am kind of hidden.

My problem seems to be that I enjoy everything I've done during medical school from basic sciences to clinical medicine. I enjoyed my gas rotation mainly because the anaesthetist I was with is a pretty incredible guy. Extremely knowledgeable about pretty much everything. He knew so much physics, mathematics and computer science and linked his work to these, it was really interesting to listen to (I plan on getting a science degree later in life).

On the other hand I've always liked pathology as a subject but honestly I am still kind of confused about what it really entails as a profession. I really enjoy teaching and explaining things I see on ward rounds in terms of pathological changes in cells/tissues to my peers. I loved the basic sciences during my pre-clinical years!

I was wondering if the OP has anything to share after the past few months 😀,

 

[mlw03]

Path the subject and path the job are entirely different. Most pathologists spend their day looking at glass slides. There's other stuff like gross, lab management, occasional autopsies, but mainly (and in some jobs only) it's coming to your office, going through a stack of slides, and diagnosing them. It's not super exciting or sexy. It's interesting and important, but for biopsies your main question is usually cancer or not cancer, and in resection specimens it's usually stage and grade the cancer. Agree with the comment about needing to be OK with virtually no patient interaction. This point cannot be stressed enough. Also think the job market is probably better overall for anesthesiologists than pathologists.

 

[h2cooper]

Rotate through the pathology department before trying to make this decision. Like others have said, it's nothing like pre-clinical medical school.