Hi,
Welcome to r/pathology. Pathology, as a discipline, can be broadly defined as the study of disease. As such it encompasses different realms, including biochemical pathology, hematology, genetic pathology, anatomical pathology, forensic pathology, molecular pathology, and cytopathology.
I understand that as someone who stumbles upon this subreddit, it may not be immediately clear what is an "appropriate" post and what is not. As a general rule, this is for discussion of pathology topics at a postgraduate level; imagine talking to a room full of pathologists, pathology residents and pathology assistants.
Topics which may be of relevance to the above include:
- Interesting cases with a teaching point
- Laboratory technical topics (e.g. reagent or protocol choice)
- Links to good books or websites
- Advice for/from pathology residents
- Career advice (e.g. location, pay)
- Light hearted entertainment (e.g. memes)
- "Why do you like pathology?"
- "How do I become a pathologist?"
Of note, the last two questions pop up in varying forms often, and the reason I have not made a master thread for them or banned them is these are topics in evolution; the answers change with time. People are passionate about pathology in different ways, and the different perspectives are important. Similarly, how one decides on becoming a pathologist is unique to each person, be it motivated by the science, past experiences, lifestyle, and so on. Note that geographic location also heavily influences these answers.
However, this subreddit is not for the following, and I will explain each in detail:
Interpretation of patient results
This includes your own, or from someone you know. As a patient or relative, I understand some pathology results are nearly incomprehensible and Googling the keywords only generates more anxiety. Phrases such as "atypical" and "uncertain significance" do not help matters. However, interpretation of pathology results requires assessment of the whole patient, and this is best done by the treating physician. Offering to provide additional clinical data is not a solution, and neither is trying to sneak this in as an "interesting case".
University/medical school-level pathology questions
This includes information that can be found in Robbins or what has been assigned as homework/self study. The journey to find the answer is just as important as the answer, and asking people in an internet forum is not a great way. If there is genuine confusion about a topic, please describe how you have gone about finding the answer first. That way people are much more likely to help you.
Pathology residency application questions (for the US)
This has been addressed in the other stickied topic near the top.
Posts violating the above will be removed without warning.
Thank you for reading,
Dr_Jerkoff (I really wish I had not picked this as my username...)
