AP and CP?

[SxRx]

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hello all
I would like to learn more about the field of pathology. I'm a med student and am trying to see what specialty I'm interested in. Anyway, one of the things I enjoy the most in school is gross anatomy lab. One of the most dreaded course I've had was histo. From what I know about pathology, AP does more autopsies while CP does more histo type of work (I may be completely off base here).

Anyway, is there an area in pathology that doesn't involve (or very little) sitting in front of scopes?

Thank you.

 

[SxRx]

I should have read the FAQ section prior to posting here.
From doing some readings in this forum, it seems that in any pathology field I go into, I'll need to do histological type of work. Sigh.....I was really getting excited that I can put my interest in dissection and anatomy into choosing a specialty. But, I just don't have the knack for histo.....only getting a mid B and hating every minute of it.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Histo is just one of those classes that usually won't come to you quickly.

You spend half the semester staring at these sections...you get frustrated, you start seeing the world in pink and purple [or trichrome only if you're lucky 😉], you think everything look the same...but if you keep up with it, and keep trying, then it just hits you. It really is like the proverbial light bulb coming on.

Because Histo is pattern recognition, unlike a lot of things in medical education. You can memorize all the nerves to this muscle, sure....you can memorize drug interactions, sure...but histo isn't memorization per se. If you try too hard to figure out the details, you'll miss the overall answer. Spend as much time on low mag as you can. If you dive right in and start looking at the smallest structures too soon, you'll miss the "big picture" as they say.

 

[podtsan]

just hang tight for a couple of years. I was certainly mediocre at best in 1st year histology and never even considered pathology as a career. I didn't particularly enjoy looking at normal tissue under the microscope, but after 2nd year pathology when diseases were introduced and things came together, I was hooked.

 

[yaah]

Don't discount path just because of a bad initial experience with microscopes.

 

[SxRx]

Actually, I think my problem is that I just don't care much for microscopic appearances of cells and tissues. As many of you have heard, "they all look the same to me". I mean, I am in the middle of studying histology slides (our school has all slides in electronic forms so we don't use scopes) for male reproductive system. All these tubules' cells look exactly the same as many other organ systems. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to learn from looking at things that come from different tissues but all look the same. This tube is made from pseudostratified epi, this is cuboidal etc..... and the whole time I'm thinking "who cares!". But, I do looooooove to dissect cadavers, looking at gross structures and getting a 3 dimensional view and understanding of relationships I once only knew in atlases. That is totally exciting for me. I wish I can have a cadaver to dissect and take a year to slowly do it on my own with a professor's supervision. That I'd do in a heart beat. I guess I'm just not a microscopicly talented. Unless many of current pathologists felt the same way, I'm not sure how I can be a pathologist. I'm a bit saddened. I was so excited about the specialty......

 

[Pathologenius]

Perhaps you should consider surgery as your specialty of choice if you love gross dissection and gross anatomy. You get much of that with surgery, but without the time at the scope.

Just a thought.

 

[Dral]

Unfortunately, many med students give Path a bad rap because of Pathology class (all that memorization) and Histo (those damn microscopes).

Keep in mind that Histo is for the most part teaching you 'normal'. Once you get to see Pathological cells and structures, you may get more interested. But also, you have to know normal to be able to differentiate pathological.

Once you may get to the point of recognizing normal tissues and understanding why they are the way they are, you may get more of an appreciation, and then when you see pathological, you can get even more excited.

As far as anatomy, keep in mind that there are some fields like Forensics that deal more with autopsy and anatomy. Also, there is anatomy involved in making slides to begin with. Pathologists are responsible for grossing in specimens which is dissecting samples to prepare them for sectioning or other examination. I personally love anatomy also, which draws me to Pathology and Surgery fields.

Luckily I've done a lot of microscope and histo work in my research and know it excites me. Maybe it will just take time for you to get to the same place. Microscopes are not easy beasts to master, but once you practice enough, you get comfortable. Not being comfortable with histo terms doesn't help either...that takes awhile also.

In a bigger picture frame of mind, if you like to figure things out, then medicine is a good field. If you like to figure things out based on histories, physical exam, labs and other things all combined, then IM is a good thing to maybe look into. If you just like anatomy, you may like surgery. If you like the mystique of figuring things out based on what other physicians don't get to see, then keep giving Path a chance. Good luck and most importantly, have fun.

 

[HbyHA]

i was definately histo-tarded in med school, which was depressing because i knew i wanted to do Path from Day 1. I think it just took more time to sink in for me or i needed to see abnormal to begin "getting" what was normal, or my professor was terrible.

don't let histology dissuade you. try a Path elective first and see the field in action. i used to think i would dread spending so much quality time with my scope during residency, but now i don't even think about it.

but i am going for a field where the scope has moved squarely off the front of my desk to the side (with a scope cover) and gross pathology is the real deal in many cases... so win-win😀

 

[SxRx]

Hmm...your responses are encouraging. I'll shadow a few pathologist during the summer betwn my M1 and M2 years. If still interested, I'll try to take a sophomore elective in path as well.

Just wondering....I checked some sites on salaries of pathologists straight out of residency and found that they were approximately:
$125K+ for 65% of the surveyed
80K to 125K for the rest.

Wow, that is low. The fact that the dividing line was set at 125K tells me that many of the salaries for starters may not be much higher than 125K. If I end up loving path, that's the end of the story. But, it'd be nice to be compensated a little more than that figure!

 

[Dral]

Not many physicians are going to make 300K + that soon out. You have to expect low to begin with. If you think about what it takes to start out, you can have a better appreciation for those figures. People who go into academics right off the bat will usually make less money (to begin and throughout their carrers) in exchange for job security and other things that go along with academia. People who go into private practice cannot expect to have a booming practice right off the bat, nor can they expect to be on equal ground in a nice partnered group. Thus, not as much starting out as you'd expect...but the good thing for docs is that the potential is there.

When I perused Pathology salaries, I had a response opposite yours. I found that in general, they made more than I expected. The potential is there to make as much as some surgical fields depending on circumstances (OK, maybe not ortho spine...unless you're one of those crazy high profile Cali dermatopath guys, heheh). Plus, the lifestyle of a Pathologist is usually much better than those in surgical fields. No, Path is not a huge moneymaker, but it does pretty damn good for itself as a field imo. But shhh, keep that info to yourself. 😉

Anyway, I won't go through the whole "Yeah, money is important, but not as important as doing what you fit best in" speech. We all already know that.

 

[SxRx]

Oh, and in responses to those who thought perhaps surgery is what I'd like. Actually, surgery is one of the specialties I am interested in. What I'm about to say may sound a bit weird.....but, I know that much of the surgical fields are going into minimally invasive procedures. This means that you don't really "open up" the patients. What I love about gross anatomy dissection is that I get to really see the body on the inside. One of the attractions to pathology for me was to be able to do autopsies where (I may be completely wrong) I can likely open up the person (not like a cadaver of course!). I just find it facinating....the human anatomy. But, I am going to continue to consider both specialties and find out where I fit in best.

 

[yaah]

Just wondering....I checked some sites on salaries of pathologists straight out of residency and found that they were approximately:
$125K+ for 65% of the surveyed
80K to 125K for the rest.

Wow, that is low. The fact that the dividing line was set at 125K tells me that many of the salaries for starters may not be much higher than 125K. If I end up loving path, that's the end of the story. But, it'd be nice to be compensated a little more than that figure!

I'm curious what site that was. I think you might be misinterpreting - $125k+ could mean anything above 125, including those over $200k. It's kind of an odd stratification. The $80-125k are probably academic hires. Most private practice hires would be over $125k.

 

[SxRx]

I'm curious what site that was. I think you might be misinterpreting - $125k+ could mean anything above 125, including those over $200k. It's kind of an odd stratification. The $80-125k are probably academic hires. Most private practice hires would be over $125k.

I can't recall. But, it was put together by some sort of a pathology organization and not a recruiting site. You are right in that 125K+ could mean anything. But, I'd tend to think that the salaries for the new job seeker is closer to 125K than 200K since the division was set nearer to 125K than 200K.....but who knows....