No ASCUS dignosis in board exam?

[TJMAXX]

Correct?

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[LaBelleVN]

Correct. The cytology questions and images on the boards were surprisingly straight-forward. Good luck!

 

[KluverB]

Granted, it's been a couple of years since I took it, but I distinctly remember a number of cyto questions where ASCUS was one of the options!

 

[Pathologee]

ASCUS is an option, but its not the answer. In fact, the picture they show you will look like something you would call ASCUS. But its LSIL.

Same rule for the glass slides. There is no such thing as DCIS with microinvasion. How are they going to find 60 slides with unequivocal microinvasion (<0.1cm)? Try to think along those lines.

Granted, it's been a couple of years since I took it, but I distinctly remember a number of cyto questions where ASCUS was one of the options!

 

[pbp4]

Pretty tough to take a picture of ASCUS- but you better know the treatment/follow up for the more common Gyn diagnoses.

 

[sirenomelia]

Correct. The cytology questions and images on the boards were surprisingly straight-forward. Good luck!

The tests are very variable. I buzzed through parts 1 and 2 but after part three everyone came out scratching their heads like WTF? with the ambiguous cytology.
Ive been told also not to pick ASCUS even though its there as a choice.

 

[sohsie]

ASCUS isn't a choice in the cytology PT exam (just unsat, b9, low grade, and high grade/carcinoma as far as I remember). I don't know why anyone would make ASCUS an answer choice for AP boards.

 

[Enkidu]

Pretty tough to take a picture of ASCUS- but you better know the treatment/follow up for the more common Gyn diagnoses.

Why is it difficult to take a picture of ASCUS?

 

[deleted314957]

it is sad that they don't make these tests a reflection of reality. pap smears have been bastardized beyond imagination.
in my 30 year perspective there are a haaddfull of catagories, however you verbalism them:
1: looks normal, F/U as appropriate for age and history.
2. abnormal: not sure what it means but needs follow-up.
3. looks bad and needs tissue studies.
4. probably and/or is cancer.

i always thought these were reasonable responses but the ststem has taken a life of it's own.
as an aside, my older experienced gyn colleagues like my system.

 

[gbwillner]

ASCUS is an option, but its not the answer. In fact, the picture they show you will look like something you would call ASCUS. But its LSIL.

Same rule for the glass slides. There is no such thing as DCIS with microinvasion. How are they going to find 60 slides with unequivocal microinvasion (<0.1cm)? Try to think along those lines.

By the same token, is the answer ever "NHA"?

 

[KluverB]

ASCUS is an option, but its not the answer. In fact, the picture they show you will look like something you would call ASCUS. But its LSIL.

How can you be sure? It's a viable Bethesda category. And fyi, I answered ascus for at least one of these, and I still passed, so...

 

[lipomas]

I remember I had a pap smear image on my boards, and the slide they showed showed what was clearly ASCUS yet that wasn't a choice. I have no idea what the answer was supposed to be.

 

[Pathologee]

Well I guess you can sleep at night knowing you got a 99%. Because it was LSIL buddy.

How can you be sure? It's a viable Bethesda category. And fyi, I answered ascus for at least one of these, and I still passed, so...

 

[KluverB]

Well I guess you can sleep at night knowing you got a 99%. Because it was LSIL buddy.

Thanks.

Oh, and thanks for writing the questions.