Even the cops don't respect us!

[pathstudent]

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I was called that a breat cancer case was starting up at a local surgery center a few miles away and that they needed a frozen on a sentinel node. On my way there I got pulled over for doing 37 in a 30 MPH zone. I told the officer I was headed to a surgery and had to be there immediately. He said "your badge says pathologist. Aren't all your patients dead? What's the rush" I tried to explain to him about a frozen section and he walked off and took his sweet time writing me a ticket. Then on top of it the frozen beat me to the gross room by 20 minutes and the surgeon called the room. She was livid and she chewed me out going on about how I was delaying her cases and she need to get out of there early before Thanksgiving. I tried to explain to her about the cops and the ticket and she hung up on me. What a day.

 

[Neopath]

That's why I'm working on a proposal to the CAP to make it mandatory for all pathologists on call to stay at the hospital. 🙂

 

[Substance]

I was called that a breat cancer case was starting up at a local surgery center a few miles away and that they needed a frozen on a sentinel node. On my way there I got pulled over for doing 37 in a 30 MPH zone. I told the officer I was headed to a surgery and had to be there immediately. He said "your badge says pathologist. Aren't all your patients dead? What's the rush" I tried to explain to him about a frozen section and he walked off and took his sweet time writing me a ticket. Then on top of it the frozen beat me to the gross room by 20 minutes and the surgeon called the room. She was livid and she chewed me out going on about how I was delaying her cases and she need to get out of there early before Thanksgiving. I tried to explain to her about the cops and the ticket and she hung up on me. What a day.

There is a lot of information in this post:

1. you should have returned the surgeon's belligerence by chastising her for not giving you adequate advance notice on an elective surgery. She has no excuse for that.

2. The cop doesn't understand what pathologists do because nobody does. As far as anyone, including other physicians, are concerned, your field is where the Type C weirdos who couldn't hack clinical medicine go to cut up dead people.

 

[KeratinPearls]

There is a lot of information in this post:

1. you should have returned the surgeon's belligerence by chastising her for not giving you adequate advance notice on an elective surgery. She has no excuse for that.

2. The cop doesn't understand what pathologists do because nobody does. As far as anyone, including other physicians, are concerned, your field is where the Type C weirdos who couldn't hack clinical medicine go to cut up dead people.

Those are some big words for someone who knows nothing about pathology.

 

[KeratinPearls]

I was called that a breat cancer case was starting up at a local surgery center a few miles away and that they needed a frozen on a sentinel node. On my way there I got pulled over for doing 37 in a 30 MPH zone. I told the officer I was headed to a surgery and had to be there immediately. He said "your badge says pathologist. Aren't all your patients dead? What's the rush" I tried to explain to him about a frozen section and he walked off and took his sweet time writing me a ticket. Then on top of it the frozen beat me to the gross room by 20 minutes and the surgeon called the room. She was livid and she chewed me out going on about how I was delaying her cases and she need to get out of there early before Thanksgiving. I tried to explain to her about the cops and the ticket and she hung up on me. What a day.

I think if you were a trauma surgeon they would have cut you loose.

 

[deleted314957]

i've got my surgeons trained ( i have only one place) that i don't freeze sentinel nodes due to the sig # of false negatives.

 

[2121115]

i've got my surgeons trained ( i have only one place) that i don't freeze sentinel nodes due to the sig # of false negatives.

And lose that revenue? I tell mine to freeze away, or at least let me do touch preps.

 

[Substance]

Those are some big words for someone who knows nothing about pathology.

Sure. That's not my opinion- I think your field provides something of great importance - but I bet the cop was thinking it. And the GI. And the derm. And the uro. And the politicians. And the hospital admins. And the medical students. And the guys who bumped your TC down by half. And the patients.

The first step to fixing a problem is to recognize it. The fact is, although it should, your field gets no respect.

 

[MOHS_01]

Sure. That's not my opinion- I think your field provides something of great importance - but I bet the cop was thinking it. And the GI. And the derm. And the uro. And the politicians. And the hospital admins. And the medical students. And the guys who bumped your TC down by half. And the patients.

The first step to fixing a problem is to recognize it. The fact is, although it should, your field gets no respect.

Interesting. Which fields do get respect and why?

 

[deleted314957]

if i had a regular tech it might be different but it is just me, myself and I and frozens are usually an interruption.

 

[pathstudent]

There is a lot of information in this post:

1. you should have returned the surgeon's belligerence by chastising her for not giving you adequate advance notice on an elective surgery. She has no excuse for that.

No I did know about it. They call me when they start the case and if we leave right away we usually are there right when the node shows. I was a little delayed getting out then the ticket killed me. She is an incredibly demanding surgeon. We are expected to have the final report done within 24 hours no matter what. We have to play along because it is good business and when we have not lived up to her expectations she goes right to the CEO of our hospital who is also the one that oversees the surgery center and bitches about us.

 

[Enkidu]

Sure. That's not my opinion- I think your field provides something of great importance - but I bet the cop was thinking it. And the GI. And the derm. And the uro. And the politicians. And the hospital admins. And the medical students. And the guys who bumped your TC down by half. And the patients.

The first step to fixing a problem is to recognize it. The fact is, although it should, your field gets no respect.

I mean... How much respect a field gets is completely arbitrary. Dermatology and Radiology are reputable fields in medicine, but I bet that a random police officer wouldn't be very impressed.

In any case, physicians are status-obsessed. Probably this trait is what drew a lot of people to medicine in the first place, since medicine is a high status profession. SDN also appears to be home to the most insecure people in existence who constantly want to discuss what other people think of them and whether they will be a "real doctor".

I wish this forum spent a bit more time on actual pathology topics than this kind of garbage.

 

[Substance]

Interesting. Which fields do get respect and why?

That is a great question, isn't it? Let's define respect as a degree of deference offered to a person or group as an expression of esteem or honor.

Cpants said this in another thread:

How much crap you take will be dictated by how your practice interacts with other specialties and how much money you bring into the hospital. Hospital administration will go to bat for the earners every time. It's why tons of surgical patients get turfed to medicine and tons of ortho patients get turfed to trauma/medicine. It's why GI doctors never admit patients at most hospitals. It's all about dollar signs, and they care a lot more about keeping a doc who does 300 knee replacements or 1000 colonoscopies per year happy than a medicine or trauma doc. It's the way of the world.

Assuming more crap = less respect, that quote suggests that one of the factors may be earnings, which would make the big earners more respected: ortho, GI, cards, IR, neurosurg etc.. But that's not all. What about other factors?

When I was searching around to answer that question, I found a thesis about pathologists written by an Australian. I think it has some good points about the public's and medical profession's opinion about pathologists. Here it is:

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...XgoIBY&usg=AFQjCNEYWmUsfXf_mbK2ktxQt20FXF-4Zg

I do not have the philosophical strength to define why x field gets respect and why y field does not, but I can safely say that pathologists get very little.

 

[mlw03]

Pathologists: the Rodney Dangerfield of the medical world.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/Album_no_respect.jpg

 

[Enkidu]

That is a great question, isn't it? Let's define respect as a degree of deference offered to a person or group as an expression of esteem or honor.

Cpants said this in another thread:



Assuming more crap = less respect, that quote suggests that one of the factors may be earnings, which would make the big earners more respected: ortho, GI, cards, IR, neurosurg etc.. But that's not all. What about other factors?

When I was searching around to answer that question, I found a thesis about pathologists written by an Australian. I think it has some good points about the public's and medical profession's opinion about pathologists. Here it is:

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...XgoIBY&usg=AFQjCNEYWmUsfXf_mbK2ktxQt20FXF-4Zg

I do not have the philosophical strength to define why x field gets respect and why y field does not, but I can safely say that pathologists get very little.

Wanna summarize that paper for us? It's 361 pages long.

 

[PikminOC]

There is a lot of information in this post:

1. you should have returned the surgeon's belligerence by chastising her for not giving you adequate advance notice on an elective surgery. She has no excuse for that.

2. The cop doesn't understand what pathologists do because nobody does. As far as anyone, including other physicians, are concerned, your field is where the Type C weirdos who couldn't hack clinical medicine go to cut up dead people.

I get the same flak from cops..and I need them for involuntary hospitalizations so you can imagine how this creates problems.

 

[PikminOC]

Interesting. Which fields do get respect and why?

yeah...

 

[Pathwrath]

Change your badge from "Pathologist" to "Staff Physician". Problem solved.

 

[Johnny Sunshine]

...your field is where the Type C weirdos who couldn't hack clinical medicine go to cut up dead people.

Although I can't argue against this being the public's perspective, this just goes to remind me how many non-pathologists browse and post on this forum. I find this...odd.

 

[mlw03]

What's your point, Johnny?

 

[KCShaw]

Get a real badge. One of the things about working with law enforcement is that I have one; it only says that I work for the MEO, but it's still like a gaudy enchanted pin in its effect sometimes. But, I very rarely use it except when approaching a scene.

Depends on how big of an issue you want it to be. A "surgeon" would gnash teeth to administration, media, and/or the officer's chain of command. And might get away with it not because they're right, not even because they're "earners" for the system, but because of the perception that a surgeon holds mystic sway over life and death and any questioning of that is bad for karma (at least among non-physicians). They don't even have to make a lot of sense with their complaints. Other folks who want to swing the same way can do it, but have to be more careful in their approach, because they will be questioned and doubted. Someone I trained with uses a lot of harsh comedy to cut through belligerent surgeons -- doesn't work for everybody though.

Seems like the real issue is with the surgeon, though. Getting pulled over and poorly handled is annoying, but ignorance is everywhere, and speeding is speeding. Finding a way to get through to a belligerent and/or self-righteous narcissistic surgeon, though... that's real magic.

 

[Johnny Sunshine]

What's your point, Johnny?

I find it odd that we spend so much time in conjecture and discussion over our field, yet a not insignificant chunk of the input and opinions come from those outside the field. Makes it even harder to judge the applicability and objectivity of the information.

 

[Kunu]

She....... surgeon.

Thats your problem right there