img pathology applicants - pathdoc

[ArchivalUser]

Thanks a lot to both pathdoc and bunny.
Its good to know from your angle. I guess, at least I am thinking of a right track for myself.

[ArchivalUser]

To mlegirl: sorry I forgot you! Prospect after residency is great. Jobs in academia and private practice are everywhere. People like to compare specialties. In radiology, every resident gets 20-30 job offers straight out of training. That's not gonna happen in path, but you will get a few job offers with decent benefits, and all you need really is one job, right? Seriously, you may not be able to be as picky as far as location and specific details about the job, but there is no shortage of jobs, and if you give it some time, or have some good contacts, you can get exactly the job that you want. I think all this represents a very small price to pay all things considered. I like many other areas of medicine, but I would not trade path for anything else.

[ArchivalUser]

To amigdala: I didn't mean to make residency sound like a breeze, because it isn't. It's much easier than specialties such as medicine and surgery as far as hours, but that's highly variable depending on the program. Overall though, path is pretty low stress. Even if you have to work long hours, you'll be grossing specimens, interpreting slides, reading, working on projects, signing out etc, not stressing yourself with nurses, phone calls, paper work and other stuff you have to deal with in clinical specialties. Let me put it this way, after a long medicine day, I felt like I was run over by a truck, while after a long day in path I'm a little tired but nothing too bad. But don't forget that in general there's a lot of reading that will be expected from you in path, and that will add some time devoted to work that won't count as your regular work ours. To me though, it still feels like a breeze because it's all interesting and I have plenty of time to do whatever I want, except for the really busy months of surg path, which are not more than a few months in a yr.
Cheers

[ArchivalUser]

Thanks Pathdoc.
The reason I said what I said was coz I saw some Path residents at work and they were previewing slides until late at night. It seemed like forever, but you are right that was in surg path. I did sit at GI signout and it was cool. I got to see a ton of Barretts and IBDs and some signet cells too.
And your point of view is more important to us coz you have seen other specialties. And so you know the real points in comparison. So thanks for answering all our questions.

[ArchivalUser]

Thank you guys for sharing your valuable experience here. There aren't many path threads, but almost most of them are very good and rich. What Pathdoc has said is so encouraging. They are also the reasons why I chose Path as a single specialty to apply, as a mother of two young kids.

Cheers

[ArchivalUser]

Bunny, Amygdala and Pathdoc thanks for continuing your good work since last application season. I was a silent observer last year. I had only one interview last year with 20 odd applications. Probably due to my application (late October, as my CS results came then) and choosing only the top notch programs. I have applied about 30 programs this year excluding most top notch ones. My credentials 92/91/CS pass/ECFMG certified/post-graduation in a preclinical discipline in my home country/no US experience/some good indexed publications/no US lor. How do you think my chances are this year? Still no calls this year.

[ArchivalUser]

pygmalion,
I personally think you will have good chance, you have good scores. As far as I know, many programs just started to review the applications, and they didn't send out the interview offers. Wait for good news. generally the programs send interview offers in the end of this month or next month, because the interview season starts from Nov to Dec, maybe some programs can send interview offers earlier, or give interviews on Jan next year.
My application for Patho is still not on the way. I need to wait ERAS to upload my documents. I will be late.

[ArchivalUser]

To pygmalion: I think you have a fair chance of getting good interviews. Apply widely and hope for the best. 30 is already a good number of programs, but I would probably apply to a few more just to be safe. Path is getting very competitive as you know, so the chances of getting interviews at top academic institutions are slim. Here in my institution they haven't given an interview for any FMG's for quite a few yrs, and they interviewed over 100 people. I'm the only FMG in the program and that's because I'm an inside transfer with some kickass inside recommendations. Try nice community programs to be safe. In many of them you get solid training and they'll be much more open. Many programs in the northeast are like that. Good luck.
Cheers

[ArchivalUser]

Pathdoc- could you name some of these community programs in the northeast?

[ArchivalUser]

Hey amygdala. I don't know specific details about the programs there. In all pathology conferences I've been to, I've been meeting foreign path residents and they were mostly from programs in the northeast (New York, Penn, Mass, NJ), and they mentioned that the programs there have a lot of international residents and faculty, so they're more open during recruitment. One community program elsewere I know is Mount Sinai Medical center in Miami. Good program, in a very nice hospital, in one of the best locations you can be. Worth checking out. Sorry I can't help you more, as I mentioned before I didn't follow the usual interview via crucis to go into pathology.