Anyone here overwhelmed with the amount of material we need to know for the boards and all the practice needed to competently signout surgical cases across all subspecialties (from gynpath to GU to GI, etc)? Of course you cant know it all but just learning the basics across all the different fields in AP and CP (hemepath, chemistry,etc) is quite overwhelming!
Any Residents Here Overwhelmed?
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I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the year, but now things have smoothed out. I feel very comfortable with most of the bread and butter AP work (grossing, frozens, basic signout, hospital autopsies) and it helps a lot that I have enough working knowledge now to identify resources (be it a textbook, internet image bank, medical literature, knowing which attending to ask) to help me assess unusual or complicated cases.
I have decided to completely suppress worries about CP, choosing a fellowship specialty, getting any research done, and pathology boards for the remainder of my first year. I just can't get that wound up about pathology boards yet anyway. I mean, I've studied appropriately for and scored well on every other standardized test I've ever taken. How much worse can it possibly be?
I have decided to completely suppress worries about CP, choosing a fellowship specialty, getting any research done, and pathology boards for the remainder of my first year. I just can't get that wound up about pathology boards yet anyway. I mean, I've studied appropriately for and scored well on every other standardized test I've ever taken. How much worse can it possibly be?
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I went through phases of being overwhelmed every year of residency, from 1st year when at times I thought I was incapable of learning anything, to 4th year when at times I thought the boards would simply require too much detail to cram all into my head at the same time. Usually the worst for me was around now actually, or a little later in spring, when expectations ramp up and the uncertainties of the next academic year are around the corner. Usually the best for me was right after the new 1st years came in when I suddenly re-realized how much I had learned the previous year and how far along I was compared to the newbies.
Personally, in retrospect I would have worked less on "everything" and more on a few basic things at a time. Foundation is what it's all about. You're not -supposed- to know everything about every subspecialty, though some attendings and certain residents would have you believe otherwise. You don't need to overcomplicate what you learn with every odd zebra. I learned more from other residents who had short little "if this then that" memorizations, than from attendings who spouted "well, if you see this it could be this or that or the other and you have to use this stain but it doesn't always work so use that stain and the other stain and oh look at the pretty butterflies..." Know small books well, and know big books just enough to know where to find out more about outliers.
Personally, in retrospect I would have worked less on "everything" and more on a few basic things at a time. Foundation is what it's all about. You're not -supposed- to know everything about every subspecialty, though some attendings and certain residents would have you believe otherwise. You don't need to overcomplicate what you learn with every odd zebra. I learned more from other residents who had short little "if this then that" memorizations, than from attendings who spouted "well, if you see this it could be this or that or the other and you have to use this stain but it doesn't always work so use that stain and the other stain and oh look at the pretty butterflies..." Know small books well, and know big books just enough to know where to find out more about outliers.
D
deleted314957
wait till it's "real" and you are 60 y/o and the solo pathologist/medical director at a 175 bed hospital.
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Pathology residency is hard because there is a lot to learn and you are not told exactly what to do like in OB, surgery, medicine etc. Try this
1) Read about your cases, and read the differential diagnosis. Read until you kill it and don't go to sleep until its done. This will take a LONG time at first but it gets shorter and shorter.
2) Learn to manage your time to balance training, family and leisure so you dont feel so overwhelmed. Alan Lakein's "How to get control of your time and your life" is pretty famous, easy to read and cheap. Try reading it.
1) Read about your cases, and read the differential diagnosis. Read until you kill it and don't go to sleep until its done. This will take a LONG time at first but it gets shorter and shorter.
2) Learn to manage your time to balance training, family and leisure so you dont feel so overwhelmed. Alan Lakein's "How to get control of your time and your life" is pretty famous, easy to read and cheap. Try reading it.
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Feeling a little overwhelmed preparing for the boards. It seems like after I'm done reading a paragraph in Compendium, I have not retained any of it. Especially the hematology section. Frustrating.
Such is life, I guess.
Such is life, I guess.
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I would advise first years to start reading compendium from day one. By the time you finish 4th year you will thank me for it. For AP go through the audio from Osler.
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The time I felt most overwhelmed I think was when I read a chapter in Henry and then went to the question book companion and knew none of the answers for that chapter's questions.
There is a lot of info to learn, but a lot of learning is not necessarily knowing the answer but knowing how to figure it out. Even on tests. Many board questions are common sense IF you have the proper background knowledge.
There is a lot of info to learn, but a lot of learning is not necessarily knowing the answer but knowing how to figure it out. Even on tests. Many board questions are common sense IF you have the proper background knowledge.
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There are still occasions where I feel overwhelmed, by the amount of work to do, the technical difficulty of the work, or the need to do something and there is no clear path to accomplish the goal. At a lecture on faculty development the speaker talked about how you typically progress to a high level of achievement in your specific field, then many high performers change the focus of their work. For example, you are a top notch surgical pathologist and you become the fellowship director, which requires a different set of skills.
Occasionally feeling overwhelmed is actually a good thing, in my opinion. It means you are working at maximal capacity, you are doing something important, and you are in a profession which requires skill, intelligence and dedication. As Tom Hanks said in "A League of their Own", "The hard is what makes it good". The downside of feeling overwhelmed is that one becomes discouraged and loses hope.
For me, the occasional need to step up to accomplish a goal, as opposed to just doing the same thing day after day, makes the field of pathology exciting and rewarding. It also translates into job security and opportunity, because not everyone can do the work of a pathologist.
Daniel Remick, M.D.
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center
Occasionally feeling overwhelmed is actually a good thing, in my opinion. It means you are working at maximal capacity, you are doing something important, and you are in a profession which requires skill, intelligence and dedication. As Tom Hanks said in "A League of their Own", "The hard is what makes it good". The downside of feeling overwhelmed is that one becomes discouraged and loses hope.
For me, the occasional need to step up to accomplish a goal, as opposed to just doing the same thing day after day, makes the field of pathology exciting and rewarding. It also translates into job security and opportunity, because not everyone can do the work of a pathologist.
Daniel Remick, M.D.
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center
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Hey, that's me (except for the 60 yo part).
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Solo is the way to go IMO. Yeah it can be alot of work, but you are king of your own lil fiefdom. Ive SO'd much bigger than 175 (250+ bed centers) solo and I would easily do that for the rest of life if I had the option.
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^This. I usually am at the "whelm" level 😉, and not "overwhelmed" - but there are definitely those weeks where I just feel helpless while things buzz around my head like a monstrous swarm of hornets. If you're feeling overwhelmed all the time, it's time to sit back and figure out if you're worrying about things you shouldn't be worrying about yet.
