It's enough to have AP only if you go to sugical or dermatopathology?

[wolfe]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Everyone said here if you want to go to private practive, it's better to choose AP/CP. But I have a question here, if you want to have fellowship training later on, especially dermatopathology or surgical pathology, can you just choose straight AP? I know a few programs offer AP/NP because it is so academically oriented and it is not necessary to have CP. But for other subspecialties, I don't know if it works.

 

[yaah]

You can do anything you want. I don't think there are ever any real hard and fast rules. There are people who are AP-only trained in private practice, just like there are people who are AP/CP in academics. If you are good enough, it will work for you. Personally, I believe in being well-rounded and exploring many areas, but think I may end up specializing as I often like the focus and intensity you get with one specific area.

When you are looking for a job post-residency, it is a good idea to have things to recommend you. Thus, if you are AP only and only know dermpath, your job opportunities will be limited. If you know that is what you want to do, fine. But you better be sure unless you are prepared to go back and do some more training. If you are AP/CP and did a fellowship in surg path and one in transfusion med, you will have a lot more options, because there are several areas you can cover.

Combining AP/CP is only one extra year more than AP-only.

 

[GreatPumpkin]

If you want to do private practice no matter what your subspecialty training you should do AP/CP. Private groups normally are contracted by the hospital to run the labs and blood bank, therefore each partner normally has a section of the CP service that they direct. So they would generally be reluctant to hire a new partner that cannot participate in the CP service (esp. since many pathologists are not as interested in CP as they are in AP).

Fellowship training in derm path may allow you to not worry with CP, only because it is in such demand that a group may take you anyway. But, I wouldn't risk it personally. Especially since no one can be sure they will even be able to get a derm path fellowship. I can't stress enough to people how competitive those positions are.

And, if someone is 100% sure they are only ever going to do academics then you can go straight AP for any AP subspecialty.

Hope this helps.