How Can I Do Well On My Path Elective?

[Thaitanium]

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Hi everyone-

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for all the advice in regards to my newly chosen specialty, Path!

Second, I was wondering how can I do well in the electives I am setting up in the next few months. Other than enthusiasm, punctuality, knowledge, work ethic, interpersonal skills, is there anything else which can help me do well in the rotation? I am not familiar with the path field yet, so I am not sure how can I make the attending's life easier during the rotation (I will be working one-on-one with an attending).

Thanks for any help and good luck to all going thru the same process!

 

[Circumflex]

Hi everyone-

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for all the advice in regards to my newly chosen specialty, Path!

Second, I was wondering how can I do well in the electives I am setting up in the next few months. Other than enthusiasm, punctuality, knowledge, work ethic, interpersonal skills, is there anything else which can help me do well in the rotation? I am not familiar with the path field yet, so I am not sure how can I make the attending's life easier during the rotation (I will be working one-on-one with an attending).

Thanks for any help and good luck to all going thru the same process!

Path rotations are not like others (med, surg, etc.), where you do work that helps the team. It's sort of an anomaly in that your job really is to learn. You won't be doing anything for your attending. And, they won't expect you to know too much, so you can read about cases you see and review your histology during the rotation.

I did a similar rotation (one on one). At first, I just sat with the attending while he signed out cases and he would teach as we went along. When we weren't at the scope, I would help with autopsies, hang out in the gross room, observe some frozen sections, read, etc. After a week or so, the attending would give me a couple of trays and tell me to go look through them quickly. I would come back (not knowing a lot about what I was looking at) and he would teach as we signed out. It was a cool way to learn.

Just enjoy yourself, use it to make sure that you are interested in path, and take advantage of any learning situations that come up.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

And please don't be obnoxious. I like the fact that the obnoxious people in my med school class went into something else.

 

[DarksideAllstar]

And please don't be obnoxious. I like the fact that the obnoxious people in my med school class went into something else.

I don't think that this can be overstated. If a resident or someone says that they don't need your help with something or to go get some coffee, just do it. This isn't clinical medicine where you have to feign enthusiasm and volunteer to do things that you don't want to do. Like a previous poster said, there isn't much you will actually be able to help with.

 

[deschutes]

I remember I was re-reading "The House of God". And you'd think it wasn't very relevant to pathology, but Rule Number XI: "Show me a medical student who only triples my work and I will kiss his feet."

Learn to be aware of high-pressure situations... e.g. it is not the best time to ask a question or be chatty when frozen sections on multiple cases are going on. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to stand back, or come back later.

Once you get used to the workflow for frozens, you might even volunteer to write stuff down on the bucket or requisition form (specimen dimensions, weight etc.). But never ever ever obscure the resident or fellow's view.

And if you should be allowed to gross, read the grossing manual chapter on the specimen concerned and ask questions if you are not sure what the next step is. You don't for instance have to document the 18 less-than-3.0cm white whorled nodules in a uterus and their distance from margins...

And if you accidentally cut yourself, tell someone.