Is it a bad idea to single out pathology before medical school?

[sj9305]

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I'm an undergrad right now and I'm trying to narrow down my career choices. I'm in a 6-year pharmacy program right now, but the bleak job market is making me reevaluate (although I've heard path is getting tight too :/)

The more I learn about pathology, the more interested I've become. I used to volunteer in the medical lab and I always thought that pathologists had interesting careers. I love learning about diseases and the disease process and I think that I have the sort of personality to match being a pathologist. Out of all the careers I've researched, this is the field that seems to be the one I'd feel like I'd really enjoy and be satisfied with

However, I'm really worried that applying to medical school with such a singular career focus is a bad idea. I'm worried that because I'm so interested in one field that is so different from the typical hands-on, patient-centered ideal of medicine, I'll burn out in medical school.

I know that the pathologist assistant field is an alternative for people not interested in going to med school, but I don't know if I'd be satisfied grossing my whole life.

Should I drop the idea, if I'm a little worried about medical school? Perhaps apply to be a Path Assistant after undergrad and then reevaluate?

 

[Kilgoretrout 65]

If you do med school, you will be exposed to a lot of fields and you can decide at that time. Ironically, your pharmacy knowledge will be almost completely useless in path....save for some obscure cytochrome genetics. I have worked with pharmacists turned Internal Medicine and they had what seemed like an incredible advantage, at least during the early aspect of their residencies. You also have to do what you like, chasing careers because of a current perceived bad job market can risk you falling behind the curve.

 

[yaah]

Lots of people enter med school with singular ideas as to what they want to do. The majority of them end up doing something else.

In my med school class, there were people who were POSITIVE they were going to be a pediatric nephrologist or a gastroenterologist or a surgeon of some sort that all changed their minds.

You have (it sounds like) had exposure to one field of medicine, that is hardly the basis for exclusion. But you do have to decide if you want to go to med school - it's a long haul, it's expensive, it dominates your life for four years of school + 3-5 years of residency. That's a long time.

 

[pianoguy05]

I'm in a 6-year pharmacy program right now, but the bleak job market is making me reevaluate (although I've heard path is getting tight too :/)

I imagine the irony of this statement won't be lost on this forum before long. 😛

Medicine should be a tough choice to make...I think a lot of people decide to go to medical school underestimating it's rigors. It's mentally and intellectually challenging. It's physically challenging at times. It's definitely all-around emotionally challenging. And you have to work with a lot of jerks. A lot of jerks. A LOT. of Jerks. Not just in medical school, but in medicine en general. You have to be willing to put up with quite a lot.

 

[Enkidu]

However, I'm really worried that applying to medical school with such a singular career focus is a bad idea. I'm worried that because I'm so interested in one field that is so different from the typical hands-on, patient-centered ideal of medicine, I'll burn out in medical school.

I know that the pathologist assistant field is an alternative for people not interested in going to med school, but I don't know if I'd be satisfied grossing my whole life.

Should I drop the idea, if I'm a little worried about medical school? Perhaps apply to be a Path Assistant after undergrad and then reevaluate?

Almost everybody has some particular vision of what they'll be doing when they apply to medical school. You're no different - except that most medical students don't have any clue about what pathologists do until they're.... Well they probably never learn. You're ahead of the curve! And medical school isn't that bad - I'd recommend that you stay far away from graduate school though - that's the worst idea... ever

 

[survivordo]

I think it is actually a great advantage to have an idea of what you want to do before entering medical school. This way you can make connections early on, shadow, get letters of rec, do research if appropriate etc. It is definitely not a bad thing. That being said... the average person will change their mind on chosen specialty before they are through so just be sure to keep an open mind as you go through.

Survivor DO

 

[thebouque]

I'd recommend that you stay far away from graduate school though - that's the worst idea... ever

I hear you... grad school is goddamn awful. You work like a slave, you do very repetitive benchwork just to get that 1 result that's not going to make any difference in science, and you rewrite the same article 20 times. You get paid nothing, and if you think that the job market is bleak in pathology, it's not even comparable to the job market in basic sciences where people fight for jobs that pay less than 40k/year after 10-12 years of schooling. I know some people in their 5th year of postdoc and they don't even know if they're going to get paid next year...

 

[KeratinPearls]

I imagine the irony of this statement won't be lost on this forum before long. 😛

Medicine should be a tough choice to make...I think a lot of people decide to go to medical school underestimating it's rigors. It's mentally and intellectually challenging. It's physically challenging at times. It's definitely all-around emotionally challenging. And you have to work with a lot of jerks. A lot of jerks. A LOT. of Jerks. Not just in medical school, but in medicine en general. You have to be willing to put up with quite a lot.

Ever since I started residency, the number of jerks I had to work with was probably 1-3. I think they tend to flock to academic programs.

 

[KeratinPearls]

I hear you... grad school is goddamn awful. You work like a slave, you do very repetitive benchwork just to get that 1 result that's not going to make any difference in science, and you rewrite the same article 20 times. You get paid nothing, and if you think that the job market is bleak in pathology, it's not even comparable to the job market in basic sciences where people fight for jobs that pay less than 40k/year after 10-12 years of schooling. I know some people in their 5th year of postdoc and they don't even know if they're going to get paid next year...

I agree grad school (PhD) is terrible. 5-10 years ago, I knew ppl that after having done 5-7 years of PhD they had jobs paying 25,000-35000 a year. How sad is that.

 

[thebouque]

By the way my previous comment was referring to grad school on its own. If a physician (pathologist or not) wants to pursue an MPH or some other graduate degree because he feels that it will help his marketability in an academic environment or because he wants to be more involved in fundamental research, it's a different story.

 

[Kilgoretrout 65]

"I'd recommend that you stay far away from graduate school though - that's the worst idea... ever"

Agree with that statement. You could be brilliant, work your ***** off and twelve years later, if you have a job, you could be making what a park ranger makes. For the truly exceptional that can maintain R01 funding in the face of government slash and burn, it is an interesting career. That applies to like 1 in 5000 people in grad school.

 

[pathstudent]

I'm an undergrad right now and I'm trying to narrow down my career choices. I'm in a 6-year pharmacy program right now, but the bleak job market is making me reevaluate (although I've heard path is getting tight too :/)

The more I learn about pathology, the more interested I've become. I used to volunteer in the medical lab and I always thought that pathologists had interesting careers. I love learning about diseases and the disease process and I think that I have the sort of personality to match being a pathologist. Out of all the careers I've researched, this is the field that seems to be the one I'd feel like I'd really enjoy and be satisfied with

However, I'm really worried that applying to medical school with such a singular career focus is a bad idea. I'm worried that because I'm so interested in one field that is so different from the typical hands-on, patient-centered ideal of medicine, I'll burn out in medical school.

I know that the pathologist assistant field is an alternative for people not interested in going to med school, but I don't know if I'd be satisfied grossing my whole life.

Should I drop the idea, if I'm a little worried about medical school? Perhaps apply to be a Path Assistant after undergrad and then reevaluate?

While medical school is a good time to stay open to other possibilities and just soak up different experiences, there are a lot of benefits to being focused and driven. I remember two of my medical school classmates that were determined to get into plastics and derm respectively.. From orientation week, they told everyone that they were going to do plastics or derm and they did everyhting they had to do to match into those insanely competitively specialties. both did and were the only two that did from my school.

Then in residency most people get fellowships at the same program. I noticed over the years that there would be new residents saying they were doing dermpath from day 1 and they always did get the fellowship. Partly because they did what they had to do..kick ass and gun it on dermpath unknown sessions, present dermpath posters at uscap, dote over the dermpath attendings, but they also got it because all the other people sort of just gave it to them, like they didn't want to compete or be perceived as being competitive.

So I see no problem with being driven and goal oriented from the get go, even if you don't know what it you are getting into.

 

[KCShaw]

I pretty much have to ditto pretty much everything folks have offered.

The catch with pathology is that very, very few people really understand what the average pathologist generally does. Even those who think they do seem to almost always be wrong, having made that determination based on watching or helping some PhD who called themselves a "pathologist" or some academic clinical pathologist, when most MD pathologists are anatomic or at least spend most of their time doing AP -- and, importantly, do little to NOTHING like those other guys & gals who more commonly interact with college or grad students do.

I had a pretty good idea I wanted to do forensic pathology when I started medical school. Officially I went in with an open mind and a couple of other things I was fairly interested in, in part because I learned early on that admissions folk tend to either be biased or know that people who go in with blinders on can be both disappointed and disappointing, and in part because I understood the reality might not be as cool as I hoped. Hardly anyone goes in really understanding what being a plastic surgeon (etc.) really means either, nor understanding what it takes to succeed in that field. Anyway, because I had a very good idea what I wanted early on, I thought it helped the mental side of things. On the other hand I probably blew off certain things more than I should have because it didn't clearly fit my career goals, so it cuts both ways. But overall I think having a clear goal helped me relax and deal with the means to the end -- 'cause as cool as med school as at times, it ain't always so.

 

[Thrombus]

I think the posters above hit upon a worse career than pathology. Research scientist, PhD. What a sad state many a PhD I ran across is in, attempting to get the elusive Jr. Faculty position, or whatever they call it now. The best thing they can do with their PhD is to find a med tech company and go into sales and attempt to rise the corporate ladder.

As to the original question: yes it is a very bad idea if you single out pathology before medical school. I would liken it to singling out English, Sociology, or Political Science before college with no other career plans.

😱😱

 

[Kilgoretrout 65]

I would liken it to singling out English, Sociology, or Political Science before college with no other career plans.

Great! That's what my daughter is doing at $40K a year... then grad school and then look for that jr faculty position selling same. Professor Ponzi, PhD Sociology.

 

[LADoc00]

I would liken it to singling out English, Sociology, or Political Science before college with no other career plans.

Great! That's what my daughter is doing at $40K a year... then grad school and then look for that jr faculty position selling same. Professor Ponzi, PhD Sociology.

Ouch. My kids will be working from age 12 on. None of this freeloading nonsense.

If I have to buy a farm to accomplish my goals, I will. Modern society re: higher education is a brainrot that will die horribly in the coming decades, student loan debt not withstanding. The Big Ponzi will fall. The lies will be revealed.