anyone have regrets about choosing path?

[tatabox80]

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Hi all,
I'm currently a 3rd year student that is very interested in pathology. My only hang up with completely committing to path at this point is the whole idea of not having patients. I was just wondering if anyone that is on here that is either a path resident or knows someone in the field that regrets their choice, and if so, why? Thanks

 

[gungho]

Hi all,
I'm currently a 3rd year student that is very interested in pathology. My only hang up with completely committing to path at this point is the whole idea of not having patients. I was just wondering if anyone that is on here that is either a path resident or knows someone in the field that regrets their choice, and if so, why? Thanks

seeing patients is overrated unless you see them in parts in formalin. no regrets here after seeing patients 20+ yrs. and still seeing them as moonlighter.

 

[yaah]

Hi all,
I'm currently a 3rd year student that is very interested in pathology. My only hang up with completely committing to path at this point is the whole idea of not having patients. I was just wondering if anyone that is on here that is either a path resident or knows someone in the field that regrets their choice, and if so, why? Thanks

The consider the rest of the world as your patients and you'll be fine. You may not be seeing them in an office dressed in their little jonnies but you can still see a hypothyroid walking by and diagnose them.

 

[mshheaddoc]

Or you'll have all of your family and friends asking you to "play doctor". They can be your patients.

 

[beary]

I am an M4 going into path, so obviously I don't have hardly any path experience, but I haven't ever regretted my decision. Long days on path went by about a million times faster for me than long days on the wards.

 

[beary]

Or you'll have all of your family and friends asking you to "play doctor". They can be your patients.

This is definitely true!

My little 3 year old niece wants to be a doctor when she grows up like Aunt Beary. 😍

 

[uhoh!]

229 views (as I write this)..and 5 measly 1-2 line posts.

I guess not many regret their choice of Path..not on SDN atleast. 😀

 

[quant]

Hi all,
I'm currently a 3rd year student that is very interested in pathology. My only hang up with completely committing to path at this point is the whole idea of not having patients. I was just wondering if anyone that is on here that is either a path resident or knows someone in the field that regrets their choice, and if so, why? Thanks

Perspective, my friend, is a very important thing.

If you are 20, things are all rosy....you are free as a bird, drink, womanize (or man-nize), Have folks who back you up and you wouldnt want to be nothing more than a Superman and have the world adore you for your brilliance.

It'd difficult to be anything other than a hot shot Cardiac, Neuro or Plastic Surgeon.....(After all, what s more cool than that super duper Brain doctor on Grey s anatomy)

If you are 25, perhaps you have been through a few girlfriends/boyfriends, some nice, some bitter and some plain ugly. Finances seem to be a bit painful,Things suddenly dont seem to be that rosy anymore. You begin to wonder, " Maybe there IS a dark side to all of this after all..."

Gas doesnt seem to be that bad after all or maybe even PM and R since you get to see patients, make decent money....though you d still like to be that bad ass Surgeon (with a few doubts)

If you are 30, you have been through medical school. You are **** deep in debt, haven't got laid forever. Deal with all sorts of people, some begging for drugs, some for attention and what not. All are uniformly painful. You are cynical. The optimism is lost, you sole motivation is to make ****loads of money and get rid of the debt,marry a hot chick, build your palace and get your swanky car. But do you have it in you to deal with it day in and day out?

You are ready to get into any speciality and it doesnt matter which one you get into since you dont give a flying crap about compassion. All you want is the money.Surgical side or Medical side?? Gas or Rad Onc?? Radio or Path?? Well it depends. Are you an AMG or an FMG? did you rock on your steps? Did you suckup gloriously during your rotations?....Just some of the things which decide where you go....

If you are 35 with a bunch of kids and spouse, you just want get to the end of the finishing line....

Point is.....I dare you to show a compassionate physician over the age of 40 whose sole motivation is the well being of patient and nothing else. Someone who is so dedicated no matter what.

Reality, my friend is what gives you perspective....

No matter what, you are cursed to end up being cynical. Ever wonder why Medicine has the highest rate of suicide among any profession?

Do what Y-O-U love.....End of story and rant.

 

[Rael]

I'm curious,

Suppose everyone here was not who they are but instead a hot-shot med student who rocked both usmle steps with a 250+, top 5% of their class from a top 10 school, and found time to do tons of research and so on and so forth...so let's say you could have your pick among ANY residency...be it path...or rads, rad-onc, derm, plastic surg...etc

There are a lot of cush and VERY lucrative specialties out there (Derm, rad-onc)...if you could do it all over again, would you choose something else over path if you could choose anything?

Interested to hear what some of you say.

 

[1Path]

so let's say you could have your pick among ANY residency...be it path...or rads, rad-onc, derm, plastic surg...etc.

What makes you think that the residents here did NOT have their pick via strong credentials like board scores? 😕
I could be biased, but the smartest doctors I know are pathologists. And the most "people oriented" doctors I've dealt with as a patient were also pathologists. 😉

 

[beary]

I'm curious,

Suppose everyone here was not who they are but instead a hot-shot med student who rocked both usmle steps with a 250+, top 5% of their class from a top 10 school, and found time to do tons of research and so on and so forth...so let's say you could have your pick among ANY residency...be it path...or rads, rad-onc, derm, plastic surg...etc

There are a lot of cush and VERY lucrative specialties out there (Derm, rad-onc)...if you could do it all over again, would you choose something else over path if you could choose anything?

Interested to hear what some of you say.

I would not have chosen anything else over path. I think I may have been able to get into a specialty like those you listed above, but I just don't want to do them for various reasons. I hate surgery. I hate clinic. That throws out plastic surg and derm. Rad onc I think is cool, but still has the clinic component and an intern year. Radiology is also cool, and less patient contact, but has an intern year and just ultimately isn't as cool as path. 😎

 

[LADoc00]

My regrets about path are more about medicine in general.

Gone forever are the halcyon days of the past. Ive sat in different the path societies of different big cities and endured the tales of old pathologists who made fortunes with enough time to enjoy them, who built laboratories where there were none, who had the respect of both the medical and non-medical communities where they raised their families. We inhabit a post-modern profession clinging to a few pitiful morsels of monetary freedom and quite often are happy to even have that. We look forward not to the better days behind us, but to a future of increasing government intervention and the rise of a socialist state bent on our capitulation. Once lauded as heroes, we have become villianized by the press, distrusted by our patients and preyed upon by lawyers, accountants and bureaucrats. Often, we live alone, rely on legal and illegal drugs to dull the incessant humming of the daily grind, we have one of the highest suicide and divorce rates of any profession. Looking around at my colleagues, their children have grown up to resent them, their long absences, their dedication to the community and the sacrifices they made.

Amen.

 

[cdql]

Ouch! Not a rosy view at all!

 

[uhoh!]

...so let's say you could have your pick among ANY residency...be it path...or rads, rad-onc, derm, plastic surg...etc..There are a lot of cush and VERY lucrative specialties out there (Derm, rad-onc)...

Seriously, this is kind of insulting. Whatever makes you feel Path is the choice of those sad losers who could not get anything else, even if they so desired? While I myself am no stellar candidate, my decision to go for Pathology has been shaped from the last 2 years of Med School, when all my options were open, so to speak. Among the highest USMLE scores I have heard are among current Path residents and applicants. You need ask no further than Yaah, if curiosity is killing you..

I wonder why the decision to go into "poor-little-Path" is met with such incredulity, by those in the field of medicine no less. I would expect them to be, hopefully, more exposed to Path than non-medics..What is more galling is that these very same medicos think Path deals only with dead patients. Its a sad, sad mindset. Ignorance is not necessarily bliss, I guess. Your loss.

 

[pathdawg]

My regrets about path are more about medicine in general.

Gone forever are the halcyon days of the past. Ive sat in different the path societies of different big cities and endured the tales of old pathologists who made fortunes with enough time to enjoy them, who built laboratories where there were none, who had the respect of both the medical and non-medical communities where they raised their families. We inhabit a post-modern profession clinging to a few pitiful morsels of monetary freedom and quite often are happy to even have that. We look forward not to the better days behind us, but to a future of increasing government intervention and the rise of a socialist state bent on our capitulation. Once lauded as heroes, we have become villianized by the press, distrusted by our patients and preyed upon by lawyers, accountants and bureaucrats. Often, we live alone, rely on legal and illegal drugs to dull the incessant humming of the daily grind, we have one of the highest suicide and divorce rates of any profession. Looking around at my colleagues, their children have grown up to resent them, their long absences, their dedication to the community and the sacrifices they made.

Amen.

This may be the single greatest LADOC post ever. Thank you. You put into words my exact feelings about the question posed.
Keep doing your thing, man.

 

[drPLUM]

My regrets about path are more about medicine in general.

Gone forever are the halcyon days of the past. Ive sat in different the path societies of different big cities and endured the tales of old pathologists who made fortunes with enough time to enjoy them, who built laboratories where there were none, who had the respect of both the medical and non-medical communities where they raised their families. We inhabit a post-modern profession clinging to a few pitiful morsels of monetary freedom and quite often are happy to even have that. We look forward not to the better days behind us, but to a future of increasing government intervention and the rise of a socialist state bent on our capitulation. Once lauded as heroes, we have become villianized by the press, distrusted by our patients and preyed upon by lawyers, accountants and bureaucrats. Often, we live alone, rely on legal and illegal drugs to dull the incessant humming of the daily grind, we have one of the highest suicide and divorce rates of any profession. Looking around at my colleagues, their children have grown up to resent them, their long absences, their dedication to the community and the sacrifices they made.

Amen.

I appreciate it when someone can throw out "halcyon" in a sentence. Strong work. Although the halcyon days may indeed be gone, I'll take the money that some path folks are getting now. Path is still one of the more lucrative specialties. An ENT I know was #1 in his class and ended up having to move to a city he'd never been to and started out making like $150K. The point is that path reimburses among the best of medical specialites (although not as much as a few).

The question at hand kinda makes me laugh. Even before I wanted to do pathology I never thought of it as "the field where people who couldn't get anything else go". Sure, it is not so hard to get "a" patholgy spot if you don't care where it is. But if you go back and look at some old posts where people posted their board scores/grades you'd see that most here could've gotten into many other fields. There are many more spots in pathology than there are applicants but if you look at the good programs they are no different than most specialties in terms of competitiveness (is that a real word?).

 

[CameronFrye]

I'm curious,

Suppose everyone here was not who they are but instead a hot-shot med student who rocked both usmle steps with a 250+, top 5% of their class from a top 10 school, and found time to do tons of research and so on and so forth...so let's say you could have your pick among ANY residency...be it path...or rads, rad-onc, derm, plastic surg...etc

There are a lot of cush and VERY lucrative specialties out there (Derm, rad-onc)...if you could do it all over again, would you choose something else over path if you could choose anything?

Interested to hear what some of you say.

 

[mcfaddens]

My regrets about path are more about medicine in general.

Gone forever are the halcyon days of the past. Ive sat in different the path societies of different big cities and endured the tales of old pathologists who made fortunes with enough time to enjoy them, who built laboratories where there were none, who had the respect of both the medical and non-medical communities where they raised their families. We inhabit a post-modern profession clinging to a few pitiful morsels of monetary freedom and quite often are happy to even have that. We look forward not to the better days behind us, but to a future of increasing government intervention and the rise of a socialist state bent on our capitulation. Once lauded as heroes, we have become villianized by the press, distrusted by our patients and preyed upon by lawyers, accountants and bureaucrats. Often, we live alone, rely on legal and illegal drugs to dull the incessant humming of the daily grind, we have one of the highest suicide and divorce rates of any profession. Looking around at my colleagues, their children have grown up to resent them, their long absences, their dedication to the community and the sacrifices they made.

Amen.

Amazing and well said, I knew this before I went into this profession, still dont know why I did it, but thats exactly what happens.

 

[yaah]

OMG I have been pining away for a precious ENT spot for years. I only went into path so that I could keep applying every year. My goal now is to do a head and neck fellowship - preferably with Barnes but if not then maybe at Cleveland Clinic because Jennifer Hunt is there now - and then reapply, hopefully they will reconsider my application at that point.

But yes - no way I would ever do anything except path. If path didn't exist I would contemplate even leaving medicine and working in industry or consulting or just doing straight research.

 

[QuietSylph]

There are a lot of cush and VERY lucrative specialties out there (Derm, rad-onc)...if you could do it all over again, would you choose something else over path if you could choose anything?

I contemplated everything, including the "hottest" specialties. Most, while lucrative or cush, are hideously boring -- like derm and rad-onc. I consider it more important to practice a specialty that is intellectually complex and challenging than it is to make an extra 100-200K a year (most of which goes to taxes). And as has been discussed many times, reimbursement and demand can change quickly in any specialty, so choose wisely.

I've seen firsthand the stats on lots of applicants to path, and while some are so-so, there are lots of extremely sharp people going into the field (250+ on boards, AOA, etc). Path consistently draws in those who find a wide range of medicine fascinating, who enjoy having a lifetime of learning ahead of them, who like the role of consultant and the responsibility of making a diagnosis, and who want to solve the mystery inherent in every specimen. Given what we do, it's no surprise we'll attract some very smart people.

As far as what's wrong with medicine in general, LADoc's summary was perfect. Perhaps the better question is: "If you were brilliant as an undergrad and valedictorian of your class at a nationally renowned university, would you still go into medicine knowing what you do now?"

 

[cytoborg]

I'm curious,

Suppose everyone here was not who they are but instead a hot-shot med student who rocked both usmle steps with a 250+, top 5% of their class from a top 10 school, and found time to do tons of research and so on and so forth...so let's say you could have your pick among ANY residency...be it path...or rads, rad-onc, derm, plastic surg...etc

There are a lot of cush and VERY lucrative specialties out there (Derm, rad-onc)...if you could do it all over again, would you choose something else over path if you could choose anything?

Interested to hear what some of you say.

Haha. You're funny.

Every day that passes, I am a little happier I chose path. Actually, happy is not the right word. Gleeful.

 

[Rael]

I didn't mean to offend or insult anyone by my post. I understand that there are quite a few future pathologists with stellar grades/scores, some of who are on this board. It wasn't my intention to put anyone down. However, as in any specialty, there are the top students and then the middle of the road students, and some lower tier students as well. Even the most competitive specialties have a wide range of applicants.
I understand that the top path spots are as competitive as anything out there can be...but there are still other path programs that are easier to get. Overall, path is what I'd call "moderately" competitive.
Point is, I am aware that many who go into path are exceptional...but you must concede that not all path residents are. Is it not possible that there may some among us who, though they may like pathology, would have done something else had the opportunity presented itself?

For those whose passion for path is as solid as a rock, I hope my post wasn't offensive. I'm not questioning anyone's sincerity or dedication to the field. So I regret asking my original question here and hope everyone isn't too offended. Won't happen again.

 

[Zuwie]

I am at the end of my M3 and one of the biggest reasons that I am attracted to pathology is that I NEVER met a SINGLE pathologist who regretted his or her specialty choice or told me to "think twice about it". The pathology department director at my school congratulated me for a "fantastic" choice and said that even though there is a potential for me to change my mind, her guess is that I'll stay in path. In contrast:
1) An Ob/Gyn attending told me that she won't be offended if i don't consider Ob/Gyn, because she wouldn't choose it either if she had to start over.
2) An IM resident said very plainly "Don't go to IM! It sucks!"
3) I won't even go into detail about all the dissatisfaction general surgery residents showed with their specialty day in or day out. One surgery attending said: "You'll never want to be a surgeon."

People in other specialties discouraged me from pathology because of their own negative stereotypes, i.e. pathologists are "antisocial", only work with dead people, "rot" by a microscope the whole day, etc.
However, once you go path, you'll never go back!

 

[Tidal]

I didn't mean to offend or insult anyone by my post. I understand that there are quite a few future pathologists with stellar grades/scores, some of who are on this board. It wasn't my intention to put anyone down. However, as in any specialty, there are the top students and then the middle of the road students, and some lower tier students as well. Even the most competitive specialties have a wide range of applicants.
I understand that the top path spots are as competitive as anything out there can be...but there are still other path programs that are easier to get. Overall, path is what I'd call "moderately" competitive.
Point is, I am aware that many who go into path are exceptional...but you must concede that not all path residents are. Is it not possible that there may some among us who, though they may like pathology, would have done something else had the opportunity presented itself?

For those whose passion for path is as solid as a rock, I hope my post wasn't offensive. I'm not questioning anyone's sincerity or dedication to the field. So I regret asking my original question here and hope everyone isn't too offended. Won't happen again.

I have to say that path is a very different field when it comes to "matching" and being "competitive". As strict consultants, we can not directly recruit patients like clinicians can. The overall number of residency positions exceeds the national need for pathologists. Being popular, having a good personality, or good bedside manner will not help you create a practice. I have several pathologists on my family tree and can say after numerous conversations, that applicants should be careful with their decision to pursue pathology. Generally, pathology is not difficult to "match" into, but to build a successful career one must get into a "solid" pathology program. These are VERY hard to "match" into. There are many pathologists out there that find job placement very difficult. However, there are others that make enormous amounts of money. Actually some of the wealthiest doctors in the country are pathologists. The strength of your career is built from your fund of knowledge and diagnostic abilities. So when considering a career in pathology, one should consider if they can "match" into a solid program vs. matching into any program. As a comparison, a pediatrician can solidify their career just by "matching" into peds and then recruiting patients by overtly expressing their love for children. Parents will bring their kids to you just because you are a physician who "loves" kids. This does not work for Path!!!!! You have to win over clinicians, who we all know are the most judgemental creatures on the planet.

 

[Gene_]

Generally, pathology is not difficult to "match" into, but to build a successful career one must get into a "solid" pathology program.

It seems to me that less well known pathology programs are fine as long as they're located in the same geographical region where you want to practice. The other important factor is being a good pathologist. If you're good, the word will get out and you'll find a job. If you're a *****, that word will get out too.

 

[Tidal]

It seems to me that less well known pathology programs are fine as long as they're located in the same geographical region where you want to practice. The other important factor is being a good pathologist. If you're good, the word will get out and you'll find a job. If you're a *****, that word will get out too.

I totally agree with the above statement.

 

[Rael]

I have to say that path is a very different field when it comes to "matching" and being "competitive". As strict consultants, we can not directly recruit patients like clinicians can. The overall number of residency positions exceeds the national need for pathologists. Being popular, having a good personality, or good bedside manner will not help you create a practice. I have several pathologists on my family tree and can say after numerous conversations, that applicants should be careful with their decision to pursue pathology. Generally, pathology is not difficult to "match" into, but to build a successful career one must get into a "solid" pathology program. These are VERY hard to "match" into. There are many pathologists out there that find job placement very difficult. However, there are others that make enormous amounts of money. Actually some of the wealthiest doctors in the country are pathologists. The strength of your career is built from your fund of knowledge and diagnostic abilities. So when considering a career in pathology, one should consider if they can "match" into a solid program vs. matching into any program. As a comparison, a pediatrician can solidify their career just by "matching" into peds and then recruiting patients by overtly expressing their love for children. Parents will bring their kids to you just because you are a physician who "loves" kids. This does not work for Path!!!!! You have to win over clinicians, who we all know are the most judgemental creatures on the planet.

I respectfully disagree with you on this...that's too general. You can't just assume that because a program has a certain name that it's going to make you a better pathologist than another program. I'm sure if you slack off at a top program, you'll come out a crappy pathologist. If you work hard at a lesser known program, you'll be solid.
A lot of it is about what fits best for you and certain people will thrive at certain places over others. For me, it was about location (staying in cali was top priority) so I can be happy and near my family...volume (don't need a 100,000+ volume...just getting overworked, not for me), and faculty that teach and residents that are good to work with. I hope that others are not choosing by just some name on the front of the building because I don't believe that's enough to make you happy or successful.
No matter where you go, if you apply yourself you can succeed. I've met many pathologists with very diverse histories with respect to their training.

And, frankly, good personality counts no matter who field of medicine you go into...I hate to hear that stereotype of the antisocial pathologist who hates talking to people. Not even clinicians will want to work with someone who has a bad attitude.

 

[elkchaser]

I have to say that path is a very different field when it comes to "matching" and being "competitive". As strict consultants, we can not directly recruit patients like clinicians can. The overall number of residency positions exceeds the national need for pathologists. Being popular, having a good personality, or good bedside manner will not help you create a practice. I have several pathologists on my family tree and can say after numerous conversations, that applicants should be careful with their decision to pursue pathology. Generally, pathology is not difficult to "match" into, but to build a successful career one must get into a "solid" pathology program. These are VERY hard to "match" into. There are many pathologists out there that find job placement very difficult. However, there are others that make enormous amounts of money. Actually some of the wealthiest doctors in the country are pathologists. The strength of your career is built from your fund of knowledge and diagnostic abilities. So when considering a career in pathology, one should consider if they can "match" into a solid program vs. matching into any program. As a comparison, a pediatrician can solidify their career just by "matching" into peds and then recruiting patients by overtly expressing their love for children. Parents will bring their kids to you just because you are a physician who "loves" kids. This does not work for Path!!!!! You have to win over clinicians, who we all know are the most judgemental creatures on the planet.

Tidal- I hope that Mount Sinai is one of the "solid" programs that are "VERY hard to match into." And, if you are right, I hope Colorado is one, too. Please consult your family tree about Colorado, before I sign my contract!

elk- in the spirit of jest

 

[Tidal]

I respectfully disagree with you on this...that's too general. You can't just assume that because a program has a certain name that it's going to make you a better pathologist than another program. I'm sure if you slack off at a top program, you'll come out a crappy pathologist. If you work hard at a lesser known program, you'll be solid.
A lot of it is about what fits best for you and certain people will thrive at certain places over others. For me, it was about location (staying in cali was top priority) so I can be happy and near my family...volume (don't need a 100,000+ volume...just getting overworked, not for me), and faculty that teach and residents that are good to work with. I hope that others are not choosing by just some name on the front of the building because I don't believe that's enough to make you happy or successful.
No matter where you go, if you apply yourself you can succeed. I've met many pathologists with very diverse histories with respect to their training.

And, frankly, good personality counts no matter who field of medicine you go into...I hate to hear that stereotype of the antisocial pathologist who hates talking to people. Not even clinicians will want to work with someone who has a bad attitude.

I never stated that a "big name" equated to a "solid" program. Prestigious programs are nice, but the term is very subjective. I was commenting on finding a program that has all the needed resources to build a career: volume, diversity of cases, research opportunities, large number of fellowships, faculty with connections. These things are very important. To be honest, once you are in residency, your USMLE scores and class rank are no longer significant. So factors that matter when it comes to getting competitive fellowships and jobs are your number publications, letters of recommendation, and phone calls. So the evaluation setup makes it more difficult to succeed professionally soley based on individual merit. There really is no objective criterion to separate you from the rest of the pack at this point. So candidates need to look for programs that have lots of resident publications, good placement, an in-house fellowship that they might be interested in, and a general program "setup" that fits their needs.
In summary, for other specialties (i.e. derm, optho, ortho, etc..) the competitive peak is match day, with the rest being downhill from there. Pathology, on the other hand, is an upward hill battle starting July 1st. Pathology residency is not for the tired or burnt out. You have to prove yourself all over again (unfortunately just like in medical school). There are just too many residency spots and not enough good jobs out there to sit on your butt in obscurity. Sorry, but that's the current state of pathology. "Matching" in path is easy, but creating a successful career in path is more "competitive" than other specialties. I think that finding a strong program that supports its residents and provides good fellowship and job placement is VERY important. The hard part is that medical students have no way of knowing which programs can provide these things, except through word of mouth. That being said most AMGs all apply to this small number of programs, making them VERY hard to match into.

 

[DoubleHappiness]

I never stated that a "big name" equated to a "solid" program. Prestigious programs are nice, but the term is very subjective. I was commenting on finding a program that has all the needed resources to build a career. Volume, diversity of cases, research opportunities, large number of fellowships, faculty with connections. These things are very important. To be honest, once you are in residency, your USMLE scores and class rank are no longer significant. So factors that matter when it comes to getting competitive fellowships and jobs are publications, letters of recommendation, and phone calls. So the setup makes it more difficult to succeed professionally soley based on individual merit. There really is not objective criterion to separate you from the pack at this point. So candidates need to look for programs that have good placement, an in-house fellowship that they might interested in, lots of resident publications, and a general program "setup" that fits your needs.
In summary, for other specialties (i.e. derm, optho, ortho, etc..) the competitive peak is match day, with the rest being downhill from there. Pathology, on the other hand, is an upward hill battle starting July 1st. Pathology residency is not for the tired or burnt out. You have to prove yourself all over again (unfortunately just like in medical school). There are just too many residency spots and not enough good jobs out there to sit on your butt in obscurity. Sorry, but that's the current state of pathology. "Matching" in path is easy, but creating a successful career in path is more difficult than other specialties. I think that finding a strong program that supports its resident and provides good fellowship and job placement is Very important.

Holy Crap!! I totally agree with you. Very good insight with the nature of the pathology profession. You are very fortunate to have been given such good advice so early on. Everyone on this forum, this person is 100% accurate.

 

[Tidal]

Tidal- I hope that Mount Sinai is one of the "solid" programs that are "VERY hard to match into." And, if you are right, I hope Colorado is one, too. Please consult your family tree about Colorado, before I sign my contract!

elk- in the spirit of jest

Mount Sinai is a "solid" program (that's why it was my #1). They definitely have impressive fellowship and job placement. If it's hard to match into, I really don't know? And as for Colorado, I don't know either. Most of the info passed down to me is from Pathologists on the East Coast.

 

[PathOne]

Pathology is, in my mind, one of the most challenging specialities out there. While ALL specialities contribute to diagnosis and treatment of patients, pathology often provides the "gold standard" in diagnosis. Even with all the amazing advancement in radiology, it's still very rare that a patient will get treated solely on radiology alone, or other diagnostic tools for that matter. It's the call of the pathologist which is the final word. And when all has been said and done, it's the pathologist who by performing an autopsy can determine how and why the patient actually died.

Also, it's a rather "scientfic" field. Other physicians, lawyers etc. can debate endlessly about a diagnosis, but hard data can often be circumstantial. In path, anyone can take out a slide or tissue bloc after 50 years, and look at it again. Also, pathologists spend the vast majority of their working lifes trying to understand and combat cancer, one of the most complex, deadly, but also most fascinating diseases around. Anyone who has looked down a microscope on highly differentiated cancerous tissue can attest to that.

Lastly, Pathology provides for some very interesting subspecialities. I originally wanted to go into Forensic Path, but dropped the idea. Not because it wasn't interesting, because it certainly was, but due to generally horrific working conditions. Now I'm into Dermpath, which is certainly also a very interesting field (even popular amongst those "Derm-gunners" out there). And generally. On top of everything else, we now have great research and development opportunities in molecular pathology, which has proven extremely helpful in areas like heme and sarcomas, though it's still struggling in the diagnosis of solid tumors. Regardless, I would never want to choose another specialty, even if I had the chance.

The drawback? Generally, you really don't see patients. Many enter medical school because of patient contact, so this can be a real issue. However, for various reasons, I've never really met anyone who chose pathology who sees this as a major drawback. Rather, it pretty effectively stops those annoying "doctor advise" questions at dinner parties. I just tell people that I, A) Only deal in cancer, mainly rare and deadly cancer at that, and B) that I'd be happy to provide them with a free quality autopsy, if their problems deteriorate. Especially B) usually ends the conversation rather quickly.