Few questions from a new student

[Sean2tall]

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Hi Pathology Peeps,
I am just starting out medical school, but I think path is something I might be interested in (already being a lab person right now). Do you guys feel like there will be a fair share of jobs available in the field in the coming years? Do you see the competitiveness of path residency increasing a lot?
Also, I have been read that there are separate AP and CP residencies in 3 years. . is it common for people to do that? Would that make you less marketable, having only one? Thanks a lot all! 😀 😎

 

[Sean2tall]

D'oh... what a doof I am. I basically found my questions handily answered in previous threads. Have you guys heard about this button that allows you to -- I believe it's called "search" -- the forums?
😳 😳 😀

Anyway. . great field you guys are into! I am definitely going to look more into it!

Sean

 

[yaah]

Glad to see you found the search button. You already have demonstrated some traits that would make a good pathologist. Problem solving!

Everyone has different positions on the competitiveness/job availability angles. It's hard to predict. Most people think it will become more competitive as time goes by because people are placing increasing amounts of importance on lifestyle (for whatever reasons) when choosing a specialty and a residency site. And, as you may have guessed or read, pathologists often have better working hours and lifestyles than those of other specialties. There's a wide range of experiences, however, no one person's opinions or experiences are ever going to apply universally. As with most things in medicine, what you put into it is going to determine a lot.

Doing straight AP is much more common than straight CP. Both are also generally done by those who are set on an academic career, and often those who are interested more in research. You can get jobs (in the private sector) with just one, but most jobs out there will require double boarding. Either way, it does take a year off of your residency length and gives you more elective time. I am doing a combined residency for a number of reasons even though I anticipate an academic career in AP. Not definite though, partly the reason to do combined.

Are you really too tall, by the way? I'm about 6'5". I wouldn't say that is too tall because I don't have to duck under doorframes, but it's getting close.

 

[Sean2tall]

😀 I guess I'm not too tall then, by your standards 😉 I'm also about 6'5". But that doesn't stop me from the occasional konking of the head. Not to mention that phantom head-konking, where you think the door frame is too-low, panic, and then realize you looked like an idiot because it was actually outside of the breathable atmosphere.

Anyway ... thanks for the reply! I have to say that your posts have been really awesome around here (both in the departments of crafty writing and informativeness). For now I think Pathology seems like one of my top contenders for specialty choice.

Thanks!
Sean

 

[yaah]

Oh don't get me wrong, I have actually knocked myself out on a doorframe. This doorframe is an entrance to a stairway, and when attempting to bound up these stairs, I jumped a bit too soon, and woke up on the floor saying, "Wha' Happened?" (I love the movie A Mighty Wind).

So, do people bring up the old basketball questions around you? You know, since you are tall, obviously you would be good at basketball and should play. You could get that ball right up there. It would be so easy for you.

Obviously these people are #$@!ing idiots. If you lower a basket to 9'6" the vast majority of the 5'11" public is not going to be able to get even remotely close to dunking a ball. But yet since I am 6'5" I should be able to on a 10' rim? Nevermind the point that I actually did when I was in high school, that's because I could jump well and had strong legs. I stopped playing basketball around that time because everyone told me I should. That I would be good. Shut up you fools! As I said before, I was always a better perimeter player because I can shoot fairly well, but they threw me under the basket where I would be manhandled by someone who outweighed me and spent his time in the gym or popping growth hormone to bulk up, started growing a beard as soon as he could, and all of this to attempt to impress the ladies or something. And then of course you try to shoot the ball and some maniac with a 36" vertical leap comes flying out behind you and slams the ball back in your face. Lot of good that 6'5" did me there, coach.

And fear not, fellow tall traveler. You shall soon be witty and banter freely if you choose. Quoting Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Beethoven appropriately and brilliantly.

 

[Sean2tall]

I feel like I've received my very own autographed yaah-post. An original to boot! I'm afraid I've had my fair share of the ol' basketball shake-down also. I tried to go with the flow for a while, but my pro-ball career path was not as illustrious as yours. I could hang on the rim and that was good enough for most people. Oh, but boy was it ugly for a while. Can't I just once shoot from outside? No! You must intimidate. Initimidate!

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement. The roads are weary, dark and deep. . . 😉

Sean
PS: I felt a bit let down by A Mighty Wind. Didn't it seem short? I need to see it again, but I wanted more.

 

[yaah]

Yeah, I electronically signed it for you, my tall brother.

I just found out today that I am a "hypothetical protein"

http://bayesweb.wadsworth.org/binding_sites/yaaH.html

I also googled yaah and got a bunch of garbage about a crappy song, the term "boo-yaah" and a definition for it, sadly. "A term which expresses surprise, horror, laughter, or sexual interest."

electronically signed:

p.s. I wasn't incredibly impressed with mighty wind the first time I saw it either. See it again. Wha' Happened?

 

[zeebs]

Although I'm not unusually tall (5'10"), I routinely whacked my head against the doorframes in Japan when I lived there. With each bump, my Japanese friends and coworkers would pat my shoulder and say "Kashikoku ni natta, neh!" meaning "Oh, you got smarter!"
This, accompanied by the comment "Shoes like boats!" when I took my shoes off in an entryway (size 8.5) and the fact that the toilet seat was actually a couple of inches lower than you anticipate in the middle of the night all made me feel a bit like I was living in Lilliput.

 

[Fermata]

Although I'm not unusually tall (5'10"), I routinely whacked my head against the doorframes in Japan when I lived there. With each bump, my Japanese friends and coworkers would pat my shoulder and say "Kashikoku ni natta, neh!" meaning "Oh, you got smarter!"
This, accompanied by the comment "Shoes like boats!" when I took my shoes off in an entryway (size 8.5) and the fact that the toilet seat was actually a couple of inches lower than you anticipate in the middle of the night all made me feel a bit like I was living in Lilliput.

If they consider a size 8.5 shoe to be big in Japan....I wonder what else they would deem "big"? 😀

::mouth moves::
::3 seconds later::

"Ahhhhh! It's Godzilla!"

 

[Doctor B.]

"Wha' Happened?" (I love the movie A Mighty Wind).

Me too! That's the best line of that film. Fred Willard is so damn funny. I nearly couldn't breathe, I laughed so hard.

 

[yaah]

Me too! That's the best line of that film. Fred Willard is so damn funny. I nearly couldn't breathe, I laughed so hard.

I was working with another resident today (who hadn't seen the movie) and I kept saying "Wha' Happened" to him until he finally asked what I was saying. Then I told him about the movie. Eventually he started to think it was funny too...I don't quite think on my level though.

I love in that movie how Fred Willard just keeps finding new ways to get that catch phrase out there. Fantastic.

Harry Shearer: I came to a realization that I was, and am, a blonde, female folk singer trapped in the body of a bald, male folk singer and I had to let me out or I would die.