Not very competitive - down there with IM and peds. Of course, there is the caveat that the top programs are as competive as any other residency. Most people just don't seem interested in carving up cadavers and looking at slides for 5-6 years, despite the great opportunities for research and the nice pay. Some branches, such as hem-path or derm-path can be pretty difficult to enter.
I wasn't aware that hemepath was that competitive. The residents I talked to pretty much hated heme-path. Also, there was some kind of Medicare/Medicaid cut that reduced reimubrsement for hemepath services. There's probably something in the path forum.
-X
srmonkey said:
Not very competitive - down there with IM and peds. Of course, there is the caveat that the top programs are as competive as any other residency. Most people just don't seem interested in carving up cadavers and looking at slides for 5-6 years, despite the great opportunities for research and the nice pay. Some branches, such as hem-path or derm-path can be pretty difficult to enter.
I wasn't aware that hemepath was that competitive. The residents I talked to pretty much hated heme-path. Also, there was some kind of Medicare/Medicaid cut that reduced reimubrsement for hemepath services. There's probably something in the path forum.
Hi there,
Do not kid yourself into thinking that Path is low on the competitive scale. The good programs are difficult to get into and many have applicants that have Ph.Ds. There may be some programs that are in the IM/Peds range but lately not many. Path is a great "lifestyle" specialty and had seen a surge in popularlity in the past couple of years. It is also a specialty that has lots of options from Anatomical-Surgical to Transfusion Medicine.
If you are interested in Pathology, try to get a paid Pathology fellowship between your second and third years. I earned $3,000 and rotated through the DC Medical Examiners office, a Bone Marrow Transplant unit and a great private hospital lab. I loved going to crime scenes and doing the forensic autopsies. It was a totally absorbing learning experience and made Step II a chip shot for me. The downside of this fellowship is that you have to take Step I early in May and you have to honor your Pathology course. I ended up doing General Surgery but I loved my time in Pathology.
njbmd 🙂
