Best IM elective for Pathologists

[DruidDoc]

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Hello all,

Haven't posted in a while, but recently I've been thinking about what IM elective would be most beneficial for me since I am now 100000% locked into path. The ones I have been considering are ID, Renal, Neuro, and Pulm--maybe Cardio. Any thoughts from residents and the like on which one they did and or enjoyed.

thx

 

[sequela]

for im, i would imagin heme-onc would be useful for both ap/cp. maybe rheumatology and endocrinology for more CP type stuff. although rheum might have some biopsies for sle, etc. and of course, gi w all those biospies.

id would be good too.

i worry that renal may be more dialyisis time than biopsy heaven...but i guess that depends on the population you're working with. but they do use a lot of lab medicine. i would probably opt for pedi nephrology.


really though, i think radiology and perhaps gyn clinic (lots of biospsies) and ent clinic would be useful too.

i feel like you can't go wrong if you make sure to slant your studying towards pathology related workup/management.

again, any kinda cancer would help since you could a least start to think about classification systs etc.

 

[DruidDoc]

oh yeah heme-onc was another one I was considering--good call.

 

[randomlogik]

oh yeah heme-onc was another one I was considering--good call.

I think heme-onc would be a good choice. I got to do a few weeks of pediatric heme-onc during my peds rotation and really enjoyed it.

 

[cytoborg]

Hello all,

Haven't posted in a while, but recently I've been thinking about what IM elective would be most beneficial for me since I am now 100000% locked into path. The ones I have been considering are ID, Renal, Neuro, and Pulm--maybe Cardio. Any thoughts from residents and the like on which one they did and or enjoyed.

thx

It depends if you're trying to do an elective that relates to path & will help you as a path resident, or you just want to do something cool that you are never going to have the opportunity to do again. Both are valid reasons, but if you're going for the former, frankly IM is not really all that useful to a pathology resident. Heme/onc might be an exception as it would have relevance to both AP and CP. I know you didn't list GI but I did a GI consults elective and liked it, and it was helpful to understand how the GI guys think about things, how they collect their biopsies, what they look for in a path report, etc. The GI endoscopy suite was adjacent to the pulmonary suite so I also got to see some bronchs, which was also fun (and now I have sympathy when I see insufficient transbronchial biopsies - it's not easy!). If on the other hand you're looking to do something you'll never get to do again, cards & renal are pretty far removed from a path resident's existence so this would be your last chance to get your fill. You'll revisit ID on your micro rotation and learn what you need to know there, so you might want to spend the time doing something else.

I know you were asking about IM but I couldn't resist suggesting radiology as a great 4th year elective, if you haven't already gotten a solid background in it...I think radiology was my single most useful 4th year rotation. I've heard it said by both radiologists and pathologists that "a good pathologist should be able to interpret his own films." So I would urge you to consider a radiology rotation that incorporates CT interpretation and neuroradiology. The 2nd most useful 4th yr rotation had to be emergency medicine - helped a lot on Step 3.

 

[E.A. Poe]

Glad to hear that heme/onc and radiology are decent IM rotations for path folks. I've been thinking about what to do during fourth year.

 

[71263]

Hello all,

Haven't posted in a while, but recently I've been thinking about what IM elective would be most beneficial for me since I am now 100000% locked into path. The ones I have been considering are ID, Renal, Neuro, and Pulm--maybe Cardio. Any thoughts from residents and the like on which one they did and or enjoyed.

thx

Hey, sorry. This has nothing to do with this thread, but Im a n00b still in 2nd year med school pathology. Is that image some sort of lung infection? I havent done much systemic path, but it looks awfully familiar.

 

[sequela]

i am on radiology right now and i told them that i'm path and want to do a lot of neuroradiology (so i'm not a total tool when brain cutting), mammography (so that i can do nice rad-path correlations) and bone (again, rad-path correlation for bone pathology). and w a few days of body ct, i have literally relearned all my gross anatomy.

also, i go to all the various tumor boards so i get to see some path too.

so, my suggestion is not only to take a radiology elective but to make sure to tailor it to your needs....otherwise they are going to train you to read stat chest xrays or kubs or cts and imaging scenarios most useful for a newly minted clinical intern.

 

[E.A. Poe]

I have radiology elective coming up, I'm looking forward to chest CTs and XRays, and interpreting things such as interstitial pneumonitis and COPD.

 

[DruidDoc]

Hey, sorry. This has nothing to do with this thread, but Im a n00b still in 2nd year med school pathology. Is that image some sort of lung infection? I havent done much systemic path, but it looks awfully familiar.

Atrial Myxoma

http://medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/CVHTML/CV076.html

 

[71263]

Atrial Myxoma

http://medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/CVHTML/CV076.html

Wow, I was wayyy off... but at least I haven't learned that yet, so its all good.

 

[DruidDoc]

Wow, I was wayyy off... but at least I haven't learned that yet, so its all good.

No prob. Wasn't like it was an easy one. 😎

What about these

 

[Ziehl-Neelsen]

I also agree that radiology is a fantastic elective for a 4th year student. There was a lot of anatomy review, and the radiologists were awsome in letting me know the areas where they really though radiology could offer extra insight to a pathologist to help with a diagnosis (mainly bone and brain lesions). Plus, there is the unexpected bonus of getting to look at a lot of FNA's if you do body procedures.

 

[Ziehl-Neelsen]

double post

 

[Sulfinator]

No prob. Wasn't like it was an easy one. 😎

What about these

Nice hint! The classic "starry sky" appearance.