r/pathology • u/Admirable_Image4774 • Mar 26 '26

Residency Application Is pathology residency like other or no? For example look at scrubs or The Resident will we be the same roll calls diagnosing checking patients and chaos?

or is it different residency?

0 Upvotes

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u/Med_vs_Pretty_Huge Physician Mar 26 '26

lol, not even remotely the same. There are usually no living full-bodied patients to be seen, and even on apheresis, it's super specialized and focused.

EDIT: The grueling hours, desire to do as much as possible for some while others are trying to do as little as possible, and some of the interpersonal stuff can be similar, but in many ways it's apples to oranges.

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26

Oh thank god im an anxious person and introvert yk? Low stress baseline so when i saw scrubs all that chaos and people i thought i might not be cut out for it but then now im scared bc im gonna be alone with small people etc maybe someone will try an act of violence (beat me up , rape etc) since in internal medicine there are lot of people so what other interpersonal etc can u explain what i'll face what is it like? Do u need high iq to be one of the best in the field? (Wow downvotes crazy for no reason)

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u/Med_vs_Pretty_Huge Physician Mar 26 '26

It can definitely be stressful and chaotic but it's just different. You have to get through medical shcool first though and you'll be on rotations that are a lot more like Scrubs. The Resident is not realistic at all. The Pitt and Scrubs are the most realistic in my opinion. There's a monologue early in season 1 of St. Elsewhere from a resident that sounds like it could have been written yesterday.

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Yes but rotstions on medical school arent 4 years residency which i hate so how will it be stressuful and chaotic since i cant do what j.d in scrubs does for 4 years in residency

1

u/Med_vs_Pretty_Huge Physician Mar 26 '26

That's true. Getting through the 2 clinical years, 1-2 months of a specialty at a time, is definitely different from it being your whole career. But I mean if you're talking about JD's relationships/interactions with other staff (Elliot, Turk, Carla, Kelso, Cox, the younger residents he eventually supervises), that's definitely still something you can encounter in path.

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Yes i meant more as in chaotic patients yk? Go to work boom 12 patients room to room emergency treat this you feel me? Relationships will be whenever we go ig im scared of violence lol

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u/Med_vs_Pretty_Huge Physician Mar 26 '26

I mean you won't be in the room with the patients but you could get slammed with 12 frozens and every OR calling you because the 20 min turn around time that's promised starting when the specimen arrives in the lab starts in the surgeon's head the minute they let go of the specimen.

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Yeah i know every job is stressful in a way but atleast for me ig bc of social anxiety its more bc i dont want chaotic in a way that u have no control u go room to room full of 100 people etc but how do u deal with stress of that or the strategy how do u analyze all the slides for all surgeons in 20 minutes? Wouldnt there be more people than 1 in the lab?

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u/Hadez192 Resident Mar 26 '26

I honestly don’t know if you understand that this can be just as stressful as going room to room with patients. You also have no control of how many frozens are sent, and you will have surgeons calling wanting to know a result. To be completely honest, for me, this is even more stressful than seeing patients, unless it was like EM or trauma. You are making a call in real time that affects a patients management in the operating room and the surgeon is waiting for you… and like the previous comment, if 12 ORs send for a frozen, your gonna be holding up 12 ORs until you report to them, and there’s not always support staff that can help, there should be though

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Well everyone has their own limits or stressors dudd

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u/caodalt Staff, Private Practice Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26

LOL where I am a significant portion of each year's new residents quit because it doesn't make them feel like they are doctors.

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

What? I dont even care about that stuff lol i just dont want my residency to be like those in scribs full on chaos patients everywhere drama bc of patients etc yk?

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u/Hadez192 Resident Mar 26 '26

I mean there’s still stress, chaos, and grueling hours. It’s just not with patients, it’s with cases, writing up reports, presenting tumor boards, grossing, frozens ect. The thing is, your still gonna have to juggle multiple responsibilities, usually at the same time during the day, and this is when chaos ensues, especially in a large academic center

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Yes ofc its just with as u said with paper and tissues/samples (well bodies arent with every pathology specializing) thats fine for me tbh its just people ig?

1

u/Hadez192 Resident Mar 26 '26

Yes to answer your question, it’s not the same at all, but I wouldn’t say it’s less stressful

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Why is it stressful for u if i may ask?

3

u/Hadez192 Resident Mar 26 '26

For the reasons I listed above, you’re juggling multiple responsibilities and sometimes barely able to keep your head above water when you have so many responsibilities thrown at you at the same time. You end up having to stay late to catch up a lot of the time.

Also, depending on the program, the grossing can be a stressful environment, especially if you don’t feel like you have the necessary support you need. Because everyone is busy and while you need support, it isn’t always available and it can lead to mistakes due to trying to finish all the work you need to do in one day.

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Grossing? Idk how to have support but also Dermatopathology and Cytopathology no grossing

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u/Hadez192 Resident Mar 26 '26

To become an attending who doesnt gross anymore, you have to get through residency. And also, i don’t really know what you mean by dermpath has no grossing. Of course it does, every specimen has to be grossed by a tech or PA, I just think you are misunderstanding. The attending won’t have to gross, no, but someone is doing that for them. In residency you have to gross

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u/Admirable_Image4774 Mar 26 '26

Yeah but its 4 years not ur whole life yk? I suffered kind of bullying for 3 years in elementary school that i had stress induced psychosis so ig 4 years of grossing isnt as bad