How can I make myself competitive for a Pathology residency?

[pickledpears]

Hi All,

I will be starting medical school this fall. I'm extremely interested in pathology and especially forensic path. What can I do during medical school to help myself become competitive?

Thanks!

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[icpshootyz]

First question - are you American and do you speak English? That's all it takes for some programs. (literally the advice I received from my advisor in med school - "Well, you're American and you speak English so you'll basically be able to go where you want")

 

[postbacpremed87]

Hi All,

I will be starting medical school this fall. I'm extremely interested in pathology and especially forensic path. What can I do during medical school to help myself become competitive?

Thanks!

Stay alive.

 

[pickledpears]

Yeah, I'm a US Citizen. So really there is nothing I need to do? If it really is that easy then I guess I could aim for top programs (correct me if I am wrong). As long as I have solid board scores and good rec letters, I should be okay? I don't need to worry about research or other ECs like for medical school?

 

[deleted314957]

Yeah, I'm a US Citizen. So really there is nothing I need to do? If it really is that easy then I guess I could aim for top programs (correct me if I am wrong). As long as I have solid board scores and good rec letters, I should be okay? I don't need to worry about research or other ECs like for medical school?

By all accounts, that stated combination of qualifications should get you into a top notch program.

 

[yaah]

Every part of your application helps. But yes, being an english-speaking US citizen graduate of a US school with passing board scores clears the bar for many programs. I don't know what the environment is right now at top programs, I am too many years out, but best as I can tell lots of research is not a requirement. But research helps you for the top (research-heavy) programs. I don't think other ECs are nearly as relevant in this field.

 

[KeratinPearls]

First question - are you American and do you speak English? That's all it takes for some programs. (literally the advice I received from my advisor in med school - "Well, you're American and you speak English so you'll basically be able to go where you want")

Not true at all. Board scores do matter. You can be an American grad with low board scores and you still won't be able to go wherever you want. Same goes with US citizen who went to school overseas.

 

[Chimichica]

Um are you all being sarcastic? What's with the speak English and US citizen/grad aspect? Are there really that many foreigners in path? And why does it matter? I feel like I'm missing the punchline of a bad joke...

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[deleted314957]

Um are you all being sarcastic? What's with the speak English and US citizen/grad aspect? Are there really that many foreigners in path? And why does it matter? I feel like I'm missing the punchline of a bad joke...

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The point is that pathology is not a competitive field. Academic standards are among the lowest. There are more FMG's/IMG folks with English as a second language than most fields. It is tougher to get a (perceived) good job in ones desired location. The field is VERY crowded and, in my opinion, the productivity per pathologist is low. More will be required from fewer players. You will almost certainly (my opinion) be an employee, well paid but the incomes will not be near historical (1975-2005) levels.

Your challenge will not be getting into a good program. It will be finding a
"good" job in your location of choice with a "promising" future.

Between now and then, it would behoove you to learn some business skills;
how to read a balance sheet and basic accounting, negotiations, etc. That
will distinguish you from the crowd and give you a leg-up in what is essentially a
very competitive BUSINESS. You have to prepare yourself to be a queen rather
than a drone/worker bee.

 

[y2k_free_radical]

The point is that pathology is not a competitive field. Academic standards are among the lowest. There are more FMG's/IMG folks with English as a second language than most fields. It is tougher to get a (perceived) good job in ones desired location. The field is VERY crowded and, in my opinion, the productivity per pathologist is low. More will be required from fewer players. You will almost certainly (my opinion) be an employee, well paid but the incomes will not be near historical (1975-2005) levels.

Your challenge will not be getting into a good program. It will be finding a
"good" job in your location of choice with a "promising" future.

Between now and then, it would behoove you to learn some business skills;
how to read a balance sheet and basic accounting, negotiations, etc. That
will distinguish you from the crowd and give you a leg-up in what is essentially a
very competitive BUSINESS. You have to prepare yourself to be a queen rather
than a drone/worker bee.

 

[y2k_free_radical]

Have you confirmed this with either DR. REMICK or our fearless leaders at the CAP?

 

[TGF beta1]

As a chief resident I just went through the ranking process with the leadership of my program. In our program the first thing you have to show is the interest in pathology. As medical student you can do an elective in pathology or even away rotation in pathology. If you have been part of some research project it helps, but to a degree. At least in our program, scores does not matter much, as long as they are above certain threshold (I think 200ish) and you have passed the steps in first attempt you are fine. The second thing you have to show to be ranked high is the interest in our program (ties to the region, knowing what the institution is and what faculty do and why you want to study/live here). The third and also very important issue is your communication skills on the interview day, it seems obvious, but if you do not have a clear enthusiastic story about you on interview day than on the ranking conference the interviewer will basically say "I didn't feel he/she would be a good fit for the program, I do not have a clear picture about him/her. Something is not right - let take another look" or something along these lines and it usually means you are going down the rank. This year we had quite a few US grads with good scores ranked lower than 20 (which historically is not matchable to our program) due to interview day performance and I think we did not rank 2 or 3 US grads at all due to the same issues. Overall spirit has changed from "we need to fill not matter what" to "we would rather go unfilled this year than have a bad resident".
To conclude: do the elective and do the away rotation in pathology this will get you the most of the bonus points to match into good pathology program. And pass the steps, ...

 

[Iceman24]

First question - are you American and do you speak English? That's all it takes for some programs. (literally the advice I received from my advisor in med school - "Well, you're American and you speak English so you'll basically be able to go where you want")

Just realized that all janitors and handymen in our hospital are American citizens with fluent English...

 

[pickledpears]

As a chief resident I just went through the ranking process with the leadership of my program. In our program the first thing you have to show is the interest in pathology. As medical student you can do an elective in pathology or even away rotation in pathology. If you have been part of some research project it helps, but to a degree. At least in our program, scores does not matter much, as long as they are above certain threshold (I think 200ish) and you have passed the steps in first attempt you are fine. The second thing you have to show to be ranked high is the interest in our program (ties to the region, knowing what the institution is and what faculty do and why you want to study/live here). The third and also very important issue is your communication skills on the interview day, it seems obvious, but if you do not have a clear enthusiastic story about you on interview day than on the ranking conference the interviewer will basically say "I didn't feel he/she would be a good fit for the program, I do not have a clear picture about him/her. Something is not right - let take another look" or something along these lines and it usually means you are going down the rank. This year we had quite a few US grads with good scores ranked lower than 20 (which historically is not matchable to our program) due to interview day performance and I think we did not rank 2 or 3 US grads at all due to the same issues. Overall spirit has changed from "we need to fill not matter what" to "we would rather go unfilled this year than have a bad resident".
To conclude: do the elective and do the away rotation in pathology this will get you the most of the bonus points to match into good pathology program. And pass the steps, ...

Thank you very much for the advice!!

 

[HmanPath]

I wouldn't say that an away rotation is necessary. However, if you do feel the need to spend the extra money and do one, might as well go big! You should however definitely do at least one elective at your medical school, for your own solidification of specialty choice and letters of recommendation. Shoot for as high as you can on Step1, a scare of 200 as stated above, won't get you very far. Also, take a good look at the "quality" of the current residents. Good luck!

 

[pickledpears]

@HmanPath What do you mean by the "quality" of the current residents?

 

[HmanPath]

@HmanPath What do you mean by the "quality" of the current residents?

Yes that is a bit vague and tough to gauge. I probably should have left that out, as during the interview process it is not really possible save for a superficial glance at where they went to med school etc. Just go to the interview dinner and see if they seem normal enough to work with. Also, try to avoid programs with that consist predominantly of IMGs.

 

[pickledpears]

Got it. Thanks a lot!