How to impress on pathology away rotations?

[peachesorangesapples]

Hello, USMD 4th year applying to path this year seeking to do some away rotations. I hope to get to know residents and faculty, get a letter of rec, and get involved in a case report.

How does one impress on pathology away rotations? I could think of looking up patient history, taking a stab at writing reports, helping with grossing and taking pictures.

I'm reviewing Molavi and normal histology. I guess other than that don't be annoying, be likable, and professional?

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[Unty]

Be yourself and be normal lol.

Just help out as much as you can without being annoying or making a resident look bad. Be a team player.

Find one or two attendings (depending on how many letters of rec you want) and focus on signing out with them as much as possible. Tell them you are interested in Pathology (they will ask you anyways) and if you are interested in their program let your desire be known.

All that you mentioned helps but showing sincere interest and enthusiasm in learning path is most important. No one is going to expect anything out of you other than showing interest. You may get a question about random basic histology but they won't hold it against you if you forgot. So just relax and learn as much as you can.

 

[StatistPriceControlsFail]

1. Tell the residents/fellows/attendings/techs you're working with that you want to go into pathology, you're there to contribute as much as possible, you're not approaching this rotation as facebook/video game time, and frequently ask them how you can be as helpful as possible with anything that needs to be done--no matter how unglamorous (and, as quickly as possible, just start proactively doing what needs to be done--even if it's redundant to what the resident is doing).

2. Do not ask to go home if the sun is up. Do not go home if it's between 8-5 and someone tells you to go home. Insist that you prefer not to be the first one to leave. People will cry tears of joy because they haven't seen this behavior since they were pretending to be interested back during 3rd year rotations.

3. Do not project ADHD. That is, pay attention & stay off electronic devices unless it's work-related. And if the people around you can't see your screen (e.g. your phone or tablet) while someone else is talking, then share that you are looking up something work-related.

4. In general, do not be a productivity killer. For example, if people are actively signing out, discussing work, etc, then do not bring up extracurricular topics (e.g. hoops, movies, what's trending, smear political opponents). Talking & asking about work-related topics is fine, but don't be a distraction.

 

[Alteran]

To echo of what has already been said, just be nice and interested. It doesn't take much to impress most pathology programs simply because the bar is so low, to put it frankly. In our program, we would be happy if visiting medical students didn't annoy us on a personal level and showed some interest at sign-out - even better if they took cases to preview and participate in the sign-out.

I would caution though that the "be the first to show up and last to leave" mentality may work in the east coast programs, but where I trained at such an attitude would have been met with some suspicion (i.e. desperate candidate, etc.) because we were rather laid back. You just have to gauge the program and help out without looking utterly desperate. I simply say that if there's plenty to do and the residents need a helping hand, stay as long as you need to without getting in the way.

This seems like a low bar to clear, but I gotta tell you that a lot of med students going into path can't seem to clear it. No joke, we had one guy rotate with us and he'd just doze off at the microscope during sign-out - eyeballs contacting the oculars and all.

 

[rhcarolina]

I did 2 month-long away rotations prior to applying into path. I was assigned to 4 different week-long services, each of which had a resident on service. At the end of each rotation, I was expected to give a 30-minute presentation.

- Be interested. Follow your resident, and be present. Watch as they gross. This could be your daily life, should you rank the program highly. Get a feel for the resident room. Are these people you like? At some point, if you feel you need a change of scenery once you are well into your rotation, ask if there are autopsies going on. Observe a couple. No phones during grossing and autopsies.

- Like others have said, show up on time and plan on being there. Read around your cases, and try to identify a topic of interest early around a case, should you need to present at the end of the rotation. If and when you are bored, read a textbook. Pull any off a shelf. Rosai’s is a safe bet.

- Attend all resident conferences. Don’t fall asleep. Chug caffeine by the fistful, if you must. No phones during conferences.

- As other have mentioned, keep the small talk during sign-out at a minimum. Bring up questions, not too many, at the end of a case. And no phones during sign-out. Not on the table. Not under the table.

- Leave your phone at your desk the whole time, on do not disturb mode.

- Dress professionally. Change into scrubs only when you must.

Hope that helps.

 

[Autopsy101]

-Emphasize the part about treating everyone with respect and not trying to "show" up the residents.
-Be appreciative to anyone who gives you direct one-on-one time to teach you something.
-Ask to be hands on if possible - gross a case with supervision, dictate/preview several cases the way a first year resident would be treated at their program.

 

[Torsed]

Never been impressed with med students, residents don't impress me either mostly.

Hints: Look sharp, show up, ask questions even if stupid questions (there are none), don't leave early, stay late, take interesting in grossing and procedures, active listening, don't fall asleep at scope -----> you are on your way!

 

[Mad Jack]

Frown intently as you stare into the microscope, giving the appearance of deep thought at the contents therein

 

[Pathgroup4]

No joke, we had one guy rotate with us and he'd just doze off at the microscope during sign-out - eyeballs contacting the oculars and all.

Hahaha this happened to me quite many times as a resident.