med school for the aspiring pathologist

[jfar18]

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Hi there,

I have basically been in a pre-med mindset since 9th grade, and now, as a college junior, I find myself really thinking about the experience of medical school for the first time, rather than just thinking about the experience of being a doctor.
My plan has always been to go into clinical pathology (specifically medical microbiology). There is nothing I'd rather do, but I am beginning to worry about the clinical years of medical school. One of my favorite aspects of clinical pathology is that it is a more 'hands-off', lab-based speciality, so I am a bit wary of the clinical years of medical school.

So my questions are: how much hands-on patient contact do you really have as a med student, and what is it like? Any insights into the last 2 years of med school would be appreciated.
Do schools vary greatly in the amount of hands-on work med students do, and if so, how can I find this information?

Thanks!

 

[Barcu]

You will be touching patients all day every day for two years. Is it really unpalatable to put up with for two years?

If you are really interested in only the lab side, have you looked into PhD programs? They might suit your needs better than you think, especially if you plan to never see patients.

 

[Arijos0222]

Hi there,

I have basically been in a pre-med mindset since 9th grade, and now, as a college junior, I find myself really thinking about the experience of medical school for the first time, rather than just thinking about the experience of being a doctor.
My plan has always been to go into clinical pathology (specifically medical microbiology). There is nothing I'd rather do, but I am beginning to worry about the clinical years of medical school. One of my favorite aspects of clinical pathology is that it is a more 'hands-off', lab-based speciality, so I am a bit wary of the clinical years of medical school.

So my questions are: how much hands-on patient contact do you really have as a med student, and what is it like? Any insights into the last 2 years of med school would be appreciated.
Do schools vary greatly in the amount of hands-on work med students do, and if so, how can I find this information?

Thanks!

I'm only a pre med but I think that the good majority of people go into medicine to see patients. Also you won't neccesarily be doing what you like until you actually start practicing, which could be in your late 20's, early 30's.

I agree with the poster above. Look into Graduate PH.D programs.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you know you don't like patients, then I suppose the question comes down to: do you want to do research or do you want to help provide clinical care? During third and fourth year you will obviously be working with a lot of patients, but even in the clinical years you'll likely have patient encounters (real or simulated). That's just the way medical education has gone.

If you really want to be involved in clinical care (even if it's in the lab), then you'll just have to suck it up and get through med school. Don't worry though, you won't be alone - there are plenty of people who don't like patient contact and figure that out pretty early on in med school.

 

[LizzyM]

Would you consider being a mid-level? There are pathologist assistant programs (masters degree training) that put you directly into pathology lab as a clinical professional after 2 years. http://www.naacls.org/links/path-a.asp

 

[image187]

I understand that you want to work in a lab and not have any contact with people, but don't you want to be a good doctor some day? Maybe you don't yet see the importance of the clinical interaction, but even for a pathologist, learning how to ellicit a history, perform a physical exam, and actually see with your own eyes the clinical signs associated with various pathologies, is critical. This may not be true for every case, but understanding what you see under that microscope is best done in the context of the whole entire clinical situation, and even the patients social history may someday provide you with clues to the right diagnosis. If youre trying to make a clinical impression, and if no one else on the treatment team has asked those important questions or performed those important physical exam maneuvers, who do you think its up to? There is a difference between a clinician and a technician, and maybe lizzy is correct and a mid-level job is right for you, but I know right now that if pathology were my goal I would take the precious short time I get to see patients in med school and spend it very wisely.