Path research for ortho?

[gmendese]

I was just wondering if someone out there can help me with this:

I'm in between 2nd and 3rd years and am doing the pathology fellowship at my school. I'm interested in ortho and was wondering if doing bone/soft tissue pathology research would help my application. THis may sound like a stupid question (I guess research is always good), but the research I would be doing is not clinical -- it has a path slant to it. Anyway, if anyone out there could shed some light on this, I'd be grateful. THanks.

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[AP]

Gmendes - research will be a bonus no matter what the field; since your research is ortho related this will obviously be more of a benefit. Being able to talk to orthopods when you do your rotations and during interviews about ortho related subjects you researched is very big...By the way, what is exacltly involved in your fellowship? I ask b/c I am doing a fellowship in anatomy and pathology at my school. Good luck

 

[Kilgorian]

Any research is very helpful/necessary. It shows involvement and, hopefully, understanding of basic research principles. I think musculoskeletal tumor pathology involvement/research would be very relevant. Oncology is a pillar of orthopaedics. This work would definitely show your interest in orthopaedics.

 

[yaah]

I was just wondering if someone out there can help me with this:

I'm in between 2nd and 3rd years and am doing the pathology fellowship at my school. I'm interested in ortho and was wondering if doing bone/soft tissue pathology research would help my application. THis may sound like a stupid question (I guess research is always good), but the research I would be doing is not clinical -- it has a path slant to it. Anyway, if anyone out there could shed some light on this, I'd be grateful. THanks.

Jumping in from the path forum..........I did the same PSF at UMass a couple of years back (which was, coincidentally, RY's (the attending) first year as an attending). I didn't think I wanted to do path when I started the fellowship either, but here I am. FYI though - I only saw between 5 and 10 ortho tumor cases my entire year (although there were others when I wasn't on service). Bone/soft tissue pathology is rare - a lot of larger academic centers don't even do a significant amount.

I think it can only help your application - during my clinical years I worked with a few surgeons (never an ortho doc though) who had done PSFs and they invariably seemed more well-versed in the diseases they were treating. And when you get to clinical years you will find you have a lot of knowledge that applies very well.

I think it's been said before, but the actual type of research you do is not always as important as the fact that you are doing it. Certainly, doing a psych project and applying to ortho may not be the most relevant, but it does show that you have spent the time, done the work, and looked at something from a detailed and scientific perspective.

I think having a project in bone/soft tissue oncology would help you out a lot - it would probably distinguish you in terms of your application to ortho from many other applicants, and during interviews, having something that distinguishes you (in a positive way) can only help.