Micro?

[Smitty]

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Any comments on the job market in micro?

Better to go path or PhD route or both?

Any comments from path residents who have done this rotation?

Any comments from LADOC? (Seems as though I remember you saying something about it being a waste of time, although that was before your change of heart regarding CP )

 

[LADoc00]

Any comments on the job market in micro?

Better to go path or PhD route or both?

Any comments from path residents who have done this rotation?

Any comments from LADOC? (Seems as though I remember you saying something about it being a waste of time, although that was before your change of heart regarding CP )

It is basically unheard of for a MD Pathologist to make a living solely from Micro. There is a specific PhD route in med micro that trains lab directors. Pathologists at the most provide oversight, so in essence the job market for you would be nil in this area.

 

[yaah]

There is starting to be some overlap with micro and molecular diagnostics (like using PCR for certain diagnoses) but yes, there isn't a lot that a pathologist has to do. Things run pretty well on their own and unless you are doing significant research and getting funding that way, you are unlikely to have a career where you are primarily running a hospital microbiology lab. I suppose there are careers with CDC or something, but a lot of these folks are either researchers or clinicians.

 

[pbp4]

there are more than a few pathologists who do solely micro- they are generally at academic centers and LADOC would probably not consider their salaries as full time work but they are out there. more places would want path docs running there micro labs but most path residents consider micro a good couple of months of studying surg path. therefore, most of the jobs are taken by PhD types.

 

[Smitty]

I had a path attending tell me that lately a lot of hospitals are starting to prefer MDs over PhDs for CP areas like Micro and Chemistry. I like Micro (at least I think I do) but I can't imagine what the advantage of having an MD run these labs would be? MDs would have more clinical knowledge, but I would imagine PhDs would know more about their specific area, not to mention PhD's probably come cheaper than MDs! I mean, a micro PhD spends 5 or so years studying this stuff; a path resident spends a few months on micro + 1 year fellowship!

 

[deschutes]

I think clinical relevance is the trump card.

Medical Microbiology is a residency in Canada.

 

[pbp4]

but I would imagine PhDs would know more about their specific area, not to mention PhD's probably come cheaper than MDs! I mean, a micro PhD spends 5 or so years studying this stuff; a path resident spends a few months on micro + 1 year fellowship!

A PhD in micro and or immunology does not prepare you anymore than a path residency to run a clinical microbiology lab- in fact, at most programs it might be less- you spend most of those five years in the research lab learning more and more about less and less-ie- becoming an expert in say -cell wall construction of gram postive bacterium- no clinician is going to ask for the km of a b-lactamase but they might ask if a staph lugdunensis is a contaminant or a real infection- one question takes a PhD the other an MD or PhD with clinical micro training. there are some more clinically related programs but they are usaully a masters degree. The same is true for chemistry and molecular.

The cheaper part is true but only to a degree- remember these jobs are going to be academic for the most part. but when it comes to a lab director of a clinical lab their salary is most likely similar to an MD lab director- since they are doing the same job. they both get equally poor pay in comparsion to surg path folks. starting out is as an assistant director is probably less for the phd types.