Do I "have to be" a Pathologist?

[Leukocyte]

I am a MS-3, going on to MS-4. My profile:

1)Hate being on the wards.
2)Love to "help people", but Hate the constant interaction with patients and medical staff.
3)Enjoys harmony, somthing that IM and Surgery people never heard off.
4)Enjoys being in the OR.
6)Enjoys research.
7)I am "very good" (have a natural/genetic ability) at Histology, and Pathology.

My father is a Pathologist, so is my uncle. Am I genetically programmed to go into Pathology? I mean, If I go into Pathology, I know I will be a very good Pathologist. But I really like the OR enviroment, and I would rather be a Surgeon. However, I really do not like the constant patient contact that goes on in surgery.

Any guidance?

Thanks.

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[Matte Kudesai]

But I really like the OR enviroment, and I would rather be a Surgeon.

Sounds like you know what pathology is all about but are drawn toward surgery.

Having a genetic ability to read slides is very different than wanting to do this for a living. Do what you love to do.....
You won't be wasting your "genetic abilities". Having a "good eye" is a great benefit to surgeons as well, unless you are a dork with your hands.

If you have good hands, good eyes, and love surgery, sounds like we have a nice match.

The "don't like patient's" thing will work itself out over time. You don't have to be a big bedside manner person as a surgeon although it helps.

 

[GeoLeoX]

If you like the OR but don't like wards have you thought about anesthesia or interventional radiology? Don't get me wrong, as a path resident I love path, but I also went through the same process as you. IR seemed to have it the best at my school. They did the procedure while the pre- and post-op management were turfed to another service such as Vascular Surgery or medicine.

Just my 1/50 of a dollar.

Geo

 

[PathOne]

An age-old question, but still a valid one. I could say that you'd get a chance to participate in OR by proxy (by doing frozens), but reality is that it's a fork in the road for you: Live patient contact or the lab. Although it's a highly personal decision, I'd probably try out the non-path path (har har) and give it a twirl. Reason being, that you seem to know the world of pathology pretty well through your family, yet are still drawn towards the front end of the building. If it doesn't work out, well, you can fall back on path. You wouldn't be the first in the world to change directions, you know.. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[yaah]

Frankly, I think you need to do quite a few surgery electives and see just how much you really like it. Because if you like the OR, the other stuff will come later. You don't have to be good with patients, many surgeons don't have tons of contact with their patients other than saying hello, seeing them in brief pre and post op office visits, etc. A surgeon H&P is not often a detailed thing, and often nurses and PAs do a lot of this work.

If you enjoy harmony and research, (or teaching) there are plenty of opportunities to make your mark in surgery. I think, however, if you hate the wards that much, any residency is going to be difficult. But most people hate the wards, it's what your goal afterwards is. Once you finish residency, you can be any kind of surgeon you want to be, as long as you get results. You can be nice, mean, bitter, flatulent, educational, kind to others, lots of patient contact, minimal patient contact, researcher, whatever.

Ultimately you have to decide for yourself. How to do that is different for everyone. Some will be helped by doing lots of rotations, some get even more confused. If you can't have a satisfactory career without parts of the OR that include hemostasis, sterile fields, whatever, you sound like a surgeon.

And Matte is right about the whole "genetic ability" business. There is a steep learning curve in path - when you are first learning to interpret basic slides and patterns it seems pretty self explanatory, but when you encounter the occasional difficult case, that's when it gets tough and talents come through. Ultimately, talent can only take you so far. Tiger Woods obviously has golfing ability, but he is the best because he works hard at it and is constantly evaluating his skills.

 

[Leukocyte]

Thanks budies. Very insightful feed-backs indeed.

 

[Weil-Felix]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You sound like anesthesia material to me.

It's got:
-The OR and no rounds (And as you know, even the surgeons have to do rounds)
-Helping people, but minus the pesky interaction...they're off snoozing in la la land while you're busy making sure they don't crash.
-A much more benign schedule and lifestyle than surgery, IM, etc. (those guys don't get post-call days off, but anesthesia residents usually do)
-Ample research opportunities

I'm telling you. You gotta try a rotation in it.

However, pathology DOES pretty much rule, and I think that no one could go wrong to choose it. My own personal bias....