Pt Contact

[SexiMexi]

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I am just wondering if any of the pathologists get patient contact and to what extent?

I am genuinely interested in path, however the thought of putting down my stethoscope for the rest of my career makes me a bit sad.


Thanks.

 

[mlw03]

some pathologists do get limited patient contact. the main type of patient contact a pathologist could get would be doing fine needle aspirations (although this is only at some residency programs, at others these are done by clinicians) or as a transfusion medicine specialist working up possible transfusion reactions. so if you chose to specialize in blood banking, you would get some patient exposure. that said, if you chose any other area in pathology you will not get daily patient contact. this is not a decision to take lightly, so think about it carefully. if you think you need to use your stethescope most every day to enjoy being a doctor, pathology may not be for you. internal medicine, in my opinion, is the closest to pathology in terms of the mental stimulation, while still providing for daily patient contact.

 

[Neddy]

I am just wondering if any of the pathologists get patient contact and to what extent?

I am genuinely interested in path, however the thought of putting down my stethoscope for the rest of my career makes me a bit sad.


Thanks.

A lot of us went through / are going through that feeling. I think you have to accept that as a pathologist (even in cytology or blood bank) you will not have genuine doctor-patient relationships. If it's enough for you to know that you are doing something interesting and important for the health of people you will never meet, than go for it. If you need to have the people you are helping look you in the eye and say 'thanks doc', then you should probably choose another field. Even radiologists get substantially more patient contact than do pathologists.

 

[yaah]

The above are good points I agree with as well. I liked patient contact to some extent. But do I miss it? No. I don't really understand the whole obsession with patient contact. I interact with people all the time in my day to day life. I certainly wouldn't ditch a field you like because you worry about missing the chance to discuss medication profiles and family history of cancer with patients.

I don't know why you would miss the stethoscope. You can always use it on your family or your dog or something. I had an IM attending who told me I was making a huge mistake going into path because I had a "gift" in relating to people as a physician. I disagreed with that analysis and told him I liked pathology better because it provided more of an intellectual challenge (for me) and it fit my talents and skills better then sticking cotton swabs up the peepee of some teenager who just got back from spring break and had a discharge. But some people find that more intellectually stimulating.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

The above are good points I agree with as well. I liked patient contact to some extent. But do I miss it? No. I don't really understand the whole obsession with patient contact. I interact with people all the time in my day to day life. I certainly wouldn't ditch a field you like because you worry about missing the chance to discuss medication profiles and family history of cancer with patients.

I don't miss patient contact either. Doing FNAs is the right amount of patient contact. You do your best to make them feel comfortable. You educate them on the role of pathology. But you don't have to take up in followup patient care. For instance, let's say you do an FNA and the cytology ends up being non-diagnostic. You don't have to be the one to tell the patient why. It's just the right amount for me. And I'm satisfied with that.

 

[nvshelat]

So how often would you be doing FNAs in, say, a private practice?

Thanks,
nvshelat, MS2

 

[yaah]

That varies from institution to institution. Many pathologists do none. Some do several a day. Really busy would be a dozen or more, including on site evals for adequacy (endoscopies, ultrasounds, etc).