My, my, Sohsie. You have learned a great deal about me, based on a mere two sentences that I wrote in a forum --to the point of knowing who wrote my letters. Either you are a poor sorceress, or too quick to judge. Fortunately, the programs have access to my full personal statement, which BTW has nothing to do with histology, nor even much to do with AP.
And here I was paying you a compliment for your earlier post. Good thing you are not a PD.
As I said before, Im not trying to be mean or demeaning. Im just trying to tell it to you straight. And I did appreciate the compliment to my earlier post. Thats why Im trying to be honest with you.
I cant comment at all about your suitability as a CP candidate, but anyone with an MD is potentially suitable for CP.
However, you did state that you were looking to apply AP/CP because you felt it would give you more options. A program director's first concern will be whether or not you are cut out for AP. Hospital with AP training programs depend on the residents to gross and make sure the cases and slides are shepherded in an organized fashion to the attendings for signout in a timely fashion. It is a lot of work, long hours, and burns a lot of people out. It is not 9-5. Believe it or not, there are AP programs who run afoul of the ACGME work rules such as the 80 hours work week. I have seen first hand people who couldnt cut it and/or drop out and the strain it puts on everyone else, residents, attendings, and patient care. Its OK to apply for AP/CP with an eye for a CP career, but you better show that you know what you are getting into and you need to prove that you aren't going to drop out or"do the minimum" to get by.
CP, in contrast, can run itself in most (not all) places. If a resident is lost, it isnt that much of a burden on the CP side. A program director isnt going to care as much if someone doesnt show much interest in CP.
The fact is that you did state your concern about AP based on your experience in first year anatomy and histology, and this is very concerning:
Since I didn't particularly like gross anatomy, I've had some concerns about AP. Regarding histology, it was neither my hated nor my favorite basic science course, but somewhere in the middle. As I recall, I did alright in it, though not as well as I did in biochemistry and physiology. My concern about histology is that I've forgotten much of it, and that this could make AP very difficult.
At this point, you should have enough AP experience to make those concerns distant memories.
I had asked if you did any AP electives, and you said no. You didnt say "No, but Ive done an externship" or "No, but I spent X number of months at a lab grossing and/or at signout." I dont know who wrote your letters. You may have letters from Rosai, Weiss, and Odze. However, if you dont have AP experience, then you don't have a letter from a pathologist who can say that they have observed you involved directly in AP and you will stick it out.
I have interviewed many applicants for my program and the two most important items I look at in the CV are their AP elective experience and the letters from pathologists who worked with them during their AP electives.
Imagine if a residency applicant was concerned that they wouldnt be cut out for surgery because they didnt like their first year anatomy course. Wouldn't someone ask "Didnt you do surgical rotations and electives?" Would you expect an applicant for general surgery to be taken seriously if they hadnt done any extra surgery clerkships. Imagine if they hadnt done any at all?!?
