boredom?

[Arctic Char]

hi, MS3 here, back with another question about being a pathologist. one of the things that really scares me about choosing a specialty (any specialty), is the fear of repetitive work, seeing the same pathologies or doing the same procedures over and over again. so my question is: do you guys feel that path offers the amount of diversity to keep things interesting? i would think that subspecialty training could put one at risk of boredom . . .

can anyone comment? i really appreciate the feedback

 

[Gut Shot]

You may actually find that repetition is somewhat comforting. When your work becomes routine it means you know what you're doing.

A pathologist once summed it up for me thusly: out of every 100 cases that cross your desk, a chimp can sign out 90 of them, 9 will be challenging, and 1 will really bust you nuts. Hence, pathology is like fishing; an endless series of opportunity for hope.

 

[CameronFrye]

hi, MS3 here, back with another question about being a pathologist. one of the things that really scares me about choosing a specialty (any specialty), is the fear of repetitive work, seeing the same pathologies or doing the same procedures over and over again. so my question is: do you guys feel that path offers the amount of diversity to keep things interesting? i would think that subspecialty training could put one at risk of boredom . . .

can anyone comment? i really appreciate the feedback

All medical specialties have a huge amount of routine, mundane tasks that are repetitive. The key is to find the specialty where you enjoy (or at least tolerate) the "boring" stuff. For me, I liked pathology b/c you can blow through a routine case quickly and then you move on to the more exciting cases. A chronic pain patient or runny nose patient takes a lot longer to deal with than a tubular adenoma.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

I'm afraid of the same thing. I am thinking about either surgery or pathology and the idea of busting my a$$ for 5 years in gen surg to get out and do appendectomies all day really is depressing. Even the subspecialist surgeons I know seem to do the same 5-10 surgeries day in and day out. I have been wondering if it is the same in pathology too.

 

[PathJet]

a really really good cardiac surgeon told me when i was a med student

"we like it when its boring"


i think you kind of get over this worry about things being boring when you actually have full responsibility for patients ... so probably should be less of a factor when you pick a specialty .

 

[Mindy]

Okay, I can't help but weigh in here...

I am the type of person who really does not like to sit still all day. And I really enjoy some manual labor. So, I happen to really like gross pathology which is essentially what led me to pathology first, and forensics next.

So, my average day as a forensic pathologist consists of:

1) getting to work by 8:30 am
2) picking the most interesting cases out of the roster of 15 to 30 per day.
3) morning meeting at 9:00 am where the cases are picked to be autopsies or external examinations, and distributed amongst pathologist. Investigators also get there "chores" for the day.
4) Coordinating with whatever investigative agencies want to show up at the autopsy (State/local police, etc.)
5) Reviewing information that is currently available on the case and requesting more info for later.
6) Autopsies until afternoon
7) Signing death certificates (cause & manner of death)
8) Slides, toxicology reports, paperwork, phone calls on pending cases
9) Afternoon meeting at 3:00pm to discuss the days cases as a group.
10) Feed and change the water of my pet fish
11) Consider going to scenes if anything interesting is going on
12) Go to court when need be.

Of course, sprinkled in between is fielding whatever issues may arise (which attorney needs which report ASAP, which family needs which death certificate signed ASAP, which funeral home is knocking on the door, which decomposed body needs to be radiologically identified, brain-cutting, etc. etc.)

I can honestly say I am never, ever bored at work. I really do not think there is another job quite like forensic pathology. Okay, lets face it, there DEFINITELY is not another job like FP. You have to have the stomach for it, and be a bit curious about the human condition to appreciate it though. And of course, you have to be willing to do some manual labor.

Mindy

 

[yaah]

As Mindy said, you don't get bored doing stuff you like to be doing. The mundane and routine become interesting to you. To me, what she described as her day sounds kind of irritating and not that interesting, but clearly I am not going into forensics. If forensics was interesting to me, that would be a great day. And I don't know, maybe if I had more exposure to it and pressed my interest in it it would become interesting - sometimes you never know what will fascinate you.

If you don't enjoy what you do, even the most exciting sounding occupation can become tedious and boring. I have no doubt even lion tamers can get bored with doing the same thing over and over again if they are not sufficiently excited and interested by the job. The other possibility is that for many people, as intimated above, tedium is relatively comforting and preferable to too much "excitement."

The only times I really get bored in residency are when I am on cytopath. I don't like some CP stuff, but there is enough leeway to read or educate myself, so I enjoy it. Cytopath I just dislike.

 

[LADoc00]

all of medicine becomes routine unless you are Dr. House...you picked the wrong occupation if you want super fast paced novel action everytime you show up to work..I suggest looking at the Navy SEALS if that is your thing.

For me, I actually have had dreams of coming into work and signing out 40 simple tubular adenomas...then sinking into my chair, sipping an espresso and watching leaves fall from the tree outside my office. That is the perfect work day for me.

 

[Arctic Char]

all of medicine becomes routine unless you are Dr. House...you picked the wrong occupation if you want super fast paced novel action everytime you show up to work..I suggest looking at the Navy SEALS if that is your thing.

For me, I actually have had dreams of coming into work and signing out 40 simple tubular adenomas...then sinking into my chair, sipping an espresso and watching leaves fall from the tree outside my office. That is the perfect work day for me.

fair enough. i can dig that.

about the 'excitment' thing . . . that isn't really what i was getting at. i don't think "excitement" is exactly what i need to fend off boredom, i was just curious about the diversity of things one sees as a pathologist. so, maybe i could better put it this way: do you look at the same kind of tissue your whole day/career . . . or is that only if you subspecialize?

 

[PathJet]

yet again not much of a worry in the realworld

i think if you are good at something and do a good job etc you have greater satisfaction and being bored is the least of ones problems. i remember worrying about this in med school too and trust me it is directly related to not having that much responsibility ( you know the final word etc)-once your name is on it everything changes .

dermpath[ers look at skin all day never heard one complain of boredom

diversity in pathology = yet again not a problem= or however you want to ask the same basic question- the answer is going to be the same- most people once they are in pathology dont leave and if they do they leave its during residency and its not from boredom

i know hard to imagine unless your actually doing it many of us have posted variations on this same answer so what other kind of answer are you looking for?

try to focus on residency and how you are gonna maximize your time there picking the your rank list etc

 

[Arctic Char]

yet again not much of a worry in the realworld

i think if you are good at something and do a good job etc you have greater satisfaction and being bored is the least of ones problems. i remember worrying about this in med school too and trust me it is directly related to not having that much responsibility ( you know the final word etc)-once your name is on it everything changes .

dermpath[ers look at skin all day never heard one complain of boredom

diversity in pathology = yet again not a problem= or however you want to ask the same basic question- the answer is going to be the same- most people once they are in pathology dont leave and if they do they leave its during residency and its not from boredom

i know hard to imagine unless your actually doing it many of us have posted variations on this same answer so what other kind of answer are you looking for?

try to focus on residency and how you are gonna maximize your time there picking the your rank list etc

thanks for the words, i appreciate the help. that goes for all of you as well, truly, thanks

 

[King Arthur]

medicine is more and more subspecialized as a whole. interventional cards is "exciting' in that it's hyperacute, however, i imagine it becomes quite routine to do the same thing all day as well. i guess er and trauma surgeons have the most variety to their lives.