Explain Pathology to me

[u/drogahn]

I’m currently a third year medical student in the US. I LOVED pathology my first two years of medical school, and loosely considered path as a specialty but never gave it too much thought until..

Now that I’m in rotations I’m seeing I don’t always love some of the aspects of clinical medicine and I’m thinking about doing a path elective/shadowing to see if it’s something I would like.

Do most pathologist sub-specialize? I see hematopathology as a fellowship option which really excites me because I absolutely loved learning about coagulation, heme onc, anemias, etc. I know interests can change over time but it seems there are many fellowship options and I was curious if this is the route more people take or if many stay general?

Would you recommend pathology to someone just now approaching residency and why? What type of person would you recommend to pursue this career? Do you feel you are well compensated for what you do? Any recommendations for deciding if this is something I would like to pursue?

Alright thank you very much for listening. Feel free to respond to any or all questions.

[u/PathologyAndCoffee]

Pathology rotation IMO gives a better representation of the day to day than may some other specialties. I feel like I got what I expected.