#advice to medical students in general wanting to get into pathology or forensic pathology

[centaurianthropology]

Hi hii! I’m just wondering, what were the struggles/how to get into forensic pathology because this is my 3rd year in med school and ide like to become a forensic later on so do you perhaps have any tips or things I should take note on?

Okay, that's a tricky question, since it's so region specific. So, caveat before I begin: this only really applies to US residencies/FP track. Anywhere else is going to have different systems, and you'd need to ask someone who went through that specific system.

So, first, congrats! You have gotten through the hardest part: you are IN MEDICAL SCHOOL, which is absolutely the choke point for all of this. I know it might not feel like it sometimes, but from here out you are way more in control than you were getting into med school.

As a third year, my main recommendation is to do general pathology rotations (surgical pathology is good, get some clinical pathology experience) and make sure you do a forensic or autopsy rotation, because you'll know really fast if it's really the route you want to go down. It can be a nasty, smelly, intense job. For some people, that's perfect, for others not so much, and you'll only know if you do a rotation. So once you start to get electives, focus in on those things.

This leads us to residency. If you do plenty of pathology rotations, you already have a massive jump on other people who apply and barely have any pathology experience. Having been pretty active in recruitment at my residency, I can tell you that an active interest and good base knowledge of what pathology is goes a long way. Another huge jump you can have on everyone else in trying for residency is to be friendly with everyone (especially techs or others you might talk to, because during your interview you are ALWAYS interviewing). Be interesting and be interested in their program. Know some good knowledge about what they're good at going in. And if you're convinced that FP is the way you want to go, focus on the residencies that have a good FP program attached to them, as it's much easier to get a fellowship if you come from their native program.

I went to a middling medical school and was only a slightly above average student. I certainly wasn't a superstar. My scores were fine. My grades were fine. But scores alone weren't going to help me. What helped was writing a killer personal statement, having REALLY good recommendations from pathologists and forensic pathologists, and being able to put on an outgoing and fun personality. Having an actual personality that is engaging and memorable is somewhat uncommon in pathology, so use what you have.

One of the keys I found in interviewing for a pathology residency was knowing that 90% of US medical school grads get their number 1 choice for residency in pathology (your mileage varies if you're shooting for the big name programs). It's a fairly small pool each year who are going into pathology, so YOUR ranking of residency programs generally matters a lot more than the residency's ranking of you. You are interviewing them just as much as they're interviewing you, so focus on the program that feels best for you. You are going to be in residency for four tough years, so you really want to be in a program that will support you well.

Once you're in residency, as I mentioned, it's a lot easier to get into a fellowship program that's already attached to your residency. I did this, so I can't really speak to the process if you're coming from an outside residency. Fellowship interviewing is somewhat like residency in that almost everyone trying to get an FP fellowship will match somewhere because very few people go into it, and there's an extremely high demand for forensic pathologists (which means you're basically guaranteed a job no matter where you want to go after fellowship! Just pick a location, and chances are good they're hiring), and more fellowship spots than applicants each year. That being said, getting into the top programs (I think the current top 3 are New York, Miami, and New Mexico) can be extremely competitive. Research the program. Make sure the fellows get their numbers, that they don't have to share, and that they get to see a wide variety of deaths.

I think confidence and kindness go a huge distance in getting you into both residency and fellowship. And knowing about pathology in general, having a good number of rotations in it, and being ready and willing to learn is going to get you the rest of the way. And even if you decide FP isn't for you, pathology is a very broad field, and you might suddenly realize you love blood banking or surgical pathology or hemepath or cytopathology or lab management. And your path residency can get you into any of those.

Good luck!

[basicwitchstudies]

Medblr Intro

Where are you from? 

AZ, USA

How old are you? 

25 :)

Are you an applicant, student or medical professional? 

Applicant

When did you decide you wanted to be a medical professional? 

I started working as a medical scribe to get out of my job at Chipotle and into something I thought would be more useful. I hit it off with an electrophysiologist, who let me come watch him do some procedures. It was a simple pacemaker generator change (takes 15 minutes really), but the moment he reached into that person’s chest I knew it was what i wanted to do with my life.

What did you do before deciding to go to medical school? 

So I’ve actually had multiple different plans. When I first started college I wanted to be a musical therapist, then a psychologist. Then I wanted to be a forensic anthropologist. I thought I’d try publishing, but that’s quite difficult when you’re not in NYC. Then I wanted to work in government, first as a translator then a diplomat. When I missed the score on the FSOT by .08 of a point, I struggled to find a path. I left my job at Chipotle (where I’d been working to pay off my loans) to work as an ED scribe. I ended up leaving the ED job due to poor management and started working at my current clinic. That’s when I decided to pursue med school. 

What area of medicine are you really interested in? 

Cardiothoracic surgery, though recently pathology has become quite interesting

Do you plan to/ Do you/ Did you work through medical school? If so what as?

I very much intend to work through medical school. I translate, but I may work as a scribe or medical transcriptionist. 

What’s your most rewarding moment working/ studying in health care? 

The grateful look in people’s eyes when they know we really care and that we’re really trying to help

What’s your most embarrassing moment working/ studying in health care?

Trying to sound smarter than I am... asking a question, then realizing the question I asked is literally impossible.

Whats the best piece of advice you have ever received? 

This is really tough! Mostly my doctors offer sarcasm... I think the best advice came from one of my Chinese teachers. There’s a limit to how much you can do for others. Sometimes you need to put yourself first.

What advice would you give others? 

Life doesn’t go according to plan. I’ve made hundreds of plans. Most have failed. They got me to where I am now.

Toxic friendships and toxic relationships (SO or family or otherwise) have no place in your life. Surround yourself with people who support you and care about your wellbeing.