getting a spot

[smellycat]

hey all,
i'm thinking of applying into pathology, but my match list is going to be very short because my wife is staying within the area where i go to medical school. I am looking into approximately 4 programs, but they all have like 1 or 2 spots per school. I've been hearing that path is intermediate to low competitive, but i am wondering how difficult it will be to match.
I have average board scores, grades and high-pass to honors grades in clinical.
any thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[yaah]

I think, smellycat (what's the origin of that name?) that a lot of this depends on what city or region you are talking about. If it's boston or NYC, I would have some contingencies, because you never know how many people each year are going to try to apply just for one area, like you are.

In general, it is very tough to predict places that only have 1-2 spots per year. Often, these are less competitive programs who have more spots than that, but offer some outside of the match every year. It is risky to only look at 4, but if that is your only option, I guess you have to go for it. Sounds like your grades are not going to be a hindrance to finding a good spot, and your interview, recommendations, and what you say about the field of pathology are going to be important, so start thinking about them now.

Path is not a very competitive field when it comes to programs outside of the top 20-25 in the country. A solid american graduate with good references and no holes in the application (like failing a board exam, a couple of clerkships, or going into path just because of the lifestyle) will likely do well. Things are changing though, and more people are entering the field who are attracted by the lifestyle, and lots of these people have good resumes. Interest in the field is very important though, and can outweigh a lot of these things. You should do well, but it would be helpful to know the area in which you are applying.

 

[Primate]

"Smelly cat,
smelly cat,
what
are
they feeding you?"

Not sure if that was the origin. If not, please ignore the above.

P

 

[yaah]

All I could think of was elton john's Honky Cat


They said get back honky cat
Better get back to the woods
Well I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh the change is gonna do me good

Not quite the same in print, but you get the idea.

 

[smellycat]

thanks for the feedback yaah,
the origin of the name actually doesn't go that far back...it's from friends (phobe) and the song she played at the cafe.
Well, the area that i'm looking into is the DC/maryland area.
there are a few programs out there...
Georgetown,
GW
Maryland
Hopkins

any more than that? i'm not sure what the top 10-20 programs are out there. I actually haven't done any path and i'm planning on doing them during my fourth year before applying. I was thinking maybe 2 months is good? What do you guys think? Is that adequate to show that i'm interested? There wasn't much opportunity before to discover path except for in 2nd year. During my summer between 1st and 2nd year i did research in peds and got a publicatoin out of it...And for a while i was looking into internal medicine.
I'm a little worried about the match and applying to only so few spots. My other option i guess would be to apply to path and a prelim spot in internal, or just maybe do research for a year but really don't want to get to that...
well any more thoughts would be helpful.

 

[yaah]

Well, gee, I would have helped you out but then you had to go and tell everyone you were a fan of that gawd-awful "must-see" tripe that I thank the tv gods every day is now over with. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if NBC puts "classic friends" on thursdays even next season to see what happens. Ick.

Just kidding, I may not like that show but I don't really begrudge people for liking it. After all, I watch 24 despite the many holes in the plot. At least you didn't mention king of queens. Hoo boy.

I think 2 months of path is plenty, I am not sure you would be able to do much more. Definitely make one of the months surg path though. It sounds like your application will be pretty competitive. I can't grade your chances on johns hopkins but I am fairly certain they like "better than average" board scores. I don't know much about the other programs but they are all at least mid-range in terms of competitiveness. Hopkins is a tough nut to crack but the others should be possible to match, I wouldn't worry. Do you live between baltimore and DC? I would guess there were more programs than 4 in that immediate area, but perhaps not. I don't know much, as I said, about those other 3 programs although Georgetown in particular has trained some well known people in the fairly recent past. I also thought the places you mentioned usually took at least 3 people in the match per year.