questions about pathology training

[sapience8x]

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I have been looking at various progams and notice that some places have a credentialing 5th year? what does this mean? is it like a fellowship?
also, do all residnets start off with autopsies ? most programs seem to list 3m of autoopsies right off of the bat. is there any way to break this up overt he first year?

 

[yaah]

There are still residents in training who fall under the previously mandated 5 year residency training. Residency was always four basic years (for AP/CP), but there used to be a requirement for a fifth year of residency. The fifth year could be in anything - most people did surgical pathology in general, but cyto or heme or any other fellowship was also an option. But basically a required fellowship. Now the requirement is only for four years, although most people will probably still do a fifth year - now the fellowship is optional.

Every program is different on what you start with. Some start with autopsy, some don't. My first four months were Chemistry, Autopsy, Autopsy, Microbiology. Another resident's first four months were Blood Bank, Blood Bank, Surg Path, Chemistry.

 

[AngryTesticle]

I have been looking at various progams and notice that some places have a credentialing 5th year? what does this mean? is it like a fellowship?
also, do all residnets start off with autopsies ? most programs seem to list 3m of autoopsies right off of the bat. is there any way to break this up overt he first year?

Some programs tend to have autopsy heavy first years. For instance, at yaah's program/my alma mater, I believe the first years get all their autopsy months out of the way that year. But this is not the case at other places. Whichever may be the case, your schedule will vary compared to others. That is because a wide variety of services need to be covered by residents. Therefore, not all residents start off the first year doing autopsies. I personally have done one month worth of autopsies this year. The majority of my time spent was on surg path and gyn path. I'm on a stretch of dermpath right now (dermpath is the bomb!...I've been pleasantly surprised).

As for credentialing 5th year, it is no longer required. However, many AP/CP residents will do a 5th year doing either a surg path fellowship or subspecialty fellowship. I think having a fellowship under your belt, when applying to private practice jobs, can be quite useful. It certainly gives you more expertise in pathology and makes you more marketable.