need advice on where to apply

[cjw0918]

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Hello all,
I'm in need of some friendly advice. I'm a third year med student at a small state MD program in the Midwest, and I am strongly considering path for residency. Problem is, I have no idea what programs to consider. I am in the bottom third of my class and have a 201 Step 1. I would like to either move close to family around Allentown, PA or head out West. However, I don't know if this is possible considering my lackluster CV. I will speak to the faculty pathologist at our school and hopefully he can point me in the right direction with some good path experience to help my CV. (Our school does not allow time for electives until August and I think that's a bit late.) I'm trying to get a feel for potential programs now because I have a husband who will have to plan for his career far in advance. Any suggestions about programs that might be good for me would be helpful. I don't know what my career goals are, but I do not anticipate enjoying or wanting to do CP. A little teaching would be ok, but no full-time academics. Thanks for any suggestions...

 

[pathstudent]

well if you want to head out west, apply to UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, Oregon and Wahsington.

 

[pathstudent]

May I ask, why are you interested in Pathology?

Is it sort of a default decision?

 

[cjw0918]

Thanks for responding path student. I like path because it's intellectually challenging, you get to work independently, and it's not so fast paced/high stress. I like figuring things out and I'm interested in why things happen. I also like that path is a very visual field unlike internal medicine. Since I've been doing my rotations, I do not enjoy rushing from patient to patient passing out prescriptions on outpatient. I also do not enjoy physically examining patients. I like talking to them, but I feel like physical exam is so vague sometimes. Also, path residency has decent hours which is important to me because I want a family in the next few years. In a way path is default b/c it does not have many of the characteristics that I do not enjoy in other specialties, but I really think I would enjoy the type of work. My father worked for the county medical examiner's office as a kid (on the law enforcement side) and I was always interested in what was found during the autopsies. (Grim for a kid, I know...) I know there's more to path than autopsies but it's the same idea, figuring out what kind of cells are there or what grade a tumor is...
Do you know anything about programs in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, or Arizona?
Thanks again..

 

[pathstudent]

Yes, there is one main program in each state and they are all good. Colorado also has a second one in Colorado Springs, but it is very small. Arizona also has a second one in Pheoxix, but again, I think it is very small.

Your school/path course director should be able to get you a book for free that lists all path residencies in North America.

 

[yaah]

U Utah is a very good program - it's the only program out west I applied to. Good pediatric path. Plus, can't beat the scenery.

And, if you're a third year, you still have >1/2 of the year left, so you may be higher than your current ranking by then, if you "play the game" which I find kind of tough sometimes. I agree with you about the physical exam - I am doing my medicine sub-I and while I agree that the physical exam can provide useful information, lab tests and radiology have become so much more important to evaluation.

I think, though, that you really should try to explore more about path - August is not too late to do a rotation. I did an away rotation in august this year and got a letter of rec from it. Path can be fast paced and high stress if you are responsible for frozens and grossing at a busy facility.

You should definitely talk to faculty. Most faculty love to talk about their specialty, and even if they don't they know someone who will. They can also give you a more realistic impression on places you might like and have a good shot at. Don't assume you can't match or get interviews at places because of your scores though. A lot of it is based on "the intangibles."

p.s. see other forums for advice on not wanting to do CP. Particularly if you have certain areas of the country you want to live in, you would probably want to increase your marketability as much as possible, which would include doing combined AP/CP. The path job market is pretty good, but there are not openings everywhere. AP only folks generally are planning on academic life.