Canadian dual US-trained and boarded surgical pathologist here with deep roots stateside. I’m really sad and disappointed to see the relationship between our countries sour so deeply and rapidly into what I expect to be worse than just a stupid trade war. I hope it will not affect our long-standing relationships in science and healthcare, but I don’t trust this regime to believe otherwise. I won’t pretend to understand all of this; I’m rooting for you all and that you and our relationships will come out okay.

What things have you heard getting negotiated into a contract at an academic practice?

Can the business fund get increased? Or the percentage of days off service for research?

I’m curious what people have gotten negotiated for their first job. My institution always offers the same contract to first year attendings, and states that there is NO NEGOTIATION. But I feel like that can’t be true. There’s gotta be some wiggle room to try and sweeten the deal if someone has multiple deals, right Or am I crazy for thinking that?

Hello! I was just wondering how many people sent out letters of intent when they applied during their cycles. I have one more interview next week, and have not felt comfortable sending a letter until I have seen all of the programs I’ve applied to. I’ve talked to some people that say programs rank people the week after their interview, so would sending one around this time still have any weight? Or on the flip side, could there be a negative to not sending one? I was hoping to go in person to at least one more program, but I don’t want to put it off if it could be detrimental to delay. Thank you!

I’m currently in pathology residency. I am wondering how and when most people secure their first attending jobs? Are we limited to what is listed on Pathology Outlines, or is it ok to contact private practice groups and community hospitals to see if they might have a position for you? Is it recommended to apply to more than one position for better negotiating power?

I'm a 3rd year in the US and am interested in pathology. I've got an elective rotation in a few months and am hoping to do it in path, the problem is I'm doing my core rotations in a rural area without pathologists nearby. I'm willing to travel pretty much anywhere in the southeast US. Any advice on how to go about setting a rotation up? Should I just start emailing pathologists or hospitals. Sorry if this is a stupid question for this sub I'm new here and thought I might try.

I’m about six months into a private pathology practice in 2024, signing out general surgical pathology and hematopathology cases. It’s a very high-volume practice with seven pathologists. My first-year cash compensation is average to slightly above average for private practice, with 20 PTO days and five CME days.

Recently, I had a discussion with the partners and requested an additional unpaid CME week starting in my second year. In exchange, I offered to cover Christmas and New Year’s calls, plus the associated weekends (the Saturday on-call person typically handles 40–50 biopsies). In 2024, they scheduled me to cover Christmas and New Year’s weekends without asking me first. Ultimately, they turned down my request saying the structure is “4+1” and I won’t get another week of PTO/CME until five years later, which was not something they had told me during my interview. At that time, they said that “4+1” to start and will flexibly increase in the future. And I know I should take responsibility for not fully clarifying these details before signing on. I also didn’t know that some of the partners take about three months off a year.

Lately, I’ve been receiving offers from other practices in the area due to the severe shortage of hematopathologists. Most of these offers include 6–7 weeks of PTO from the start. The partners at my current practice are nice, or at least try to be, and this is a partnership-track position that grants partial partnership after three full years with very good pay.

My question is: Am I being rash and/or even a bit arrogant for wanting to leave for this reason after just one year?

Thank you for reading—I appreciate your input.

As an attending, I plan on doing mainly surg path sign out, but as a resident, forensics is slowly peaking my interest (true crime junkie).

Would it be possible to do surgical pathology and do forensic autopsies locums/on the side?

AKA is it worth it to do two fellowships, one in specialty surg path (GI) and the other in forensics?

Not looking for a diagnosis, but would like to know all the possible reasons behind this as I’ve asked a cardiologist I know and they were unsure and the pathologist on the case did not provide any answer or information about it. Thank you!

For pathology attending who are IMGs. Do you recommend going to a program with established name and prestige but offers J1 visa or a relatively smaller program with H1b visa?

I understand that getting a waiver job might be challenging but is doable. But at the end of the day, is it worth the risk considering the political climate. Thank you.

Hi everybody. I hope you are all doing well. I am very conflicted regarding my ROL. I would like to stay in the US after my residency, because I'm interested in CP and in my country, CP pretty much does not exist. The thing is I have read that J1 visa waivers for pathology are hard to find, but most of my IVs were from programs that only offer J1 visas, which includes my #1 option. Any recommendations or insights at all? I would deeply appreciate it.

My ROL so far:

1. NYU

2. Cedars Sinai

3. SUNY Downstate

4. University of Cincinnati (H1B)

5. Zucker at Staten Island (H1B)

6. UT Houston

7. Zucker Long Island (H1B)

Hi everyone,

I’m an MBA student in the US researching the commercialization of Digital Cell Twin models in clinical diagnostics. As part of my research, I need to collect qualitative data through short (15-minute) interviews with professionals who have experience looking at cells (e.g., pathologists, pathology assistants, lab techs). My goal is to better understand pain points, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement in pathology that could inform how new technologies like digital twin models might fit in.

I’ve tried reaching out to professionals in the field but have had difficulty getting responses, which I know is a common challenge given how busy medical professionals are. Does anyone have advice on the best way to connect with pathologists or other experts who might be open to a brief conversation? Are there any specific platforms, networks, or approaches that tend to work best?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

For educational recut slides, I always remove the patient HPI from the slide. But I usually write the accession number on the slide so i can reference the report or chart if I need it. Is that okay?

I’ve seen colleagues with teaching sets with everything including the name and MRN on them. That isn’t okay. But in my mind, having the accession number seems okay (maybe in the gray zone, but still okay). What are your thoughts?

How do you label your recuts?

Hello r/pathology, I am an OMS-2 and have narrowed my specialty choices down to pathology or radiology, and I wanted to ask about what options I would have as a pathologist with regards to my day-to-day workload. Before med school I worked as a grossing tech/IHC lab assistant and am pretty familiar with (what I think is) anatomic pathology.

I feel like I have the right personality for pathology, and I enjoyed the work from an assistants perspective, but from what I've seen online and saw at my job it seems like a significant part of the job is just looking at histology all day. I don't hate histology at all, actually it can be very neat, but I don't know if that is all I want to do for the rest of my career. I have seen some clerkships working with the county medical examiner which sounds really cool, so I know there has to be something to the specialty besides histo to do.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just got out of an OSCE so my brain is a little fried.

TL;DR: Any career paths that aren't 90% histology?

I’ve always wondered if they get paid per consult case. Some of them receive cases from all over the country which is likely generating extra income to the department.

I'm interested in an AP-only residency and plan to pursue fellowships in hemepath and MGP. I've heard that AP-only training is discouraged for community or private practice pathology. If I want to keep my training within five years, would these fellowships sufficiently bridge the CP experience gap and make me as hirable as an AP/CP-trained pathologist?

This is what I need/propose:-

A LLM that is trained on the top 30-40 textbooks, including the blue books, is able to converse with me and answer my doubts.

I can understand that publishers won't be giving anything for free but why can't Elsevier, Springer or for that matter the WHO include such a subscription based service so that I have to stop searching things when I'm studying for exams?

I'm a hematopathologist, and I recently joined a high-volume private operation. We see lots of peripheral smears, and many of the clinical indications seem (to me, anyway) to suggest a lack of understand of what smears can and can't do. Think, "patient with neuropathy, any MGUS?" and the like. For these cases, I have a canned comment stating 'a smear can't exclude XXX, get a tissue biopsy and/or SPEP, as indicated.' Maybe these are part of an order set or something, but I suspect there's some genuine misunderstanding too. Is this something you've run into? If so, how did you address it? Thanks in advance!

Hello, I’m newly interested in pathology (last year med student unfortunately) my CV is not pathology oriented

What resources would you recommend from A to Z. For a beginner/ easy to digest/ basic stuff. (I’m doing elective next month, so help me to impress the attendings lol)

Also any particular things that looks good on CV specifically for pathology (for example specific course, community/membership..)

I would highly appreciate it even the tiny smallest help.

TIA

Going for AP/CP; top 5 in no particular order: Mayo Clinic (Rochester), Iowa, Michigan, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State

Factors I'm considering (also in no particular order): case volume / variety, quality of education & faculty, WLB, cost of living

Any insights are appreciated!

1. Loma Linda
2. Harbor UCLA
3. Robert Wood Johnson at Rutgers
4. Baylor in Dallas

Does anyone have insight into any of the following programs and any suggestions on ordering?

Patient is being seen at our institution. The pathology group will not send us the slides for institutional review. Is there are precedent here? I've never even heard of a group refusing a request.

Hi everyone,

I’m an M3 currently interested in pathology and internal medicine, but I’m feeling stuck and could really use some advice. I’m two clerkships behind schedule, and my school doesn’t allow us to take Step 2 until all core clerkships are completed. This means I’ll likely have to take Step 2 in September and submit an incomplete application in ERAS.

To complicate things, I applied for my school’s Post-Sophomore Fellowship (PSF) because I thought it might give me more time to explore pathology, get additional research experience, and strengthen my CV. But I’m torn about whether the PSF is the right choice. Part of me feels like I have to do it since I’m behind on clerkships, but I’m not sure it’ll be worth the time.

Another option I’ve considered is delaying my graduation to December of the following year. That would give me more time to finish everything, submit a complete application, and make a clearer decision about my career path. But I worry that I’ll still be stuck in the same state of indecision when it comes time to choose.

Should I just stick to the current timeline and skip the PSF, or would taking the extra time with the PSF or delaying graduation help me make a better choice

Hi! I am going to start my residency in Pathology from next week onwards. I am both anxious and excited! Is there anything I should keep in mind in my initial days of residency? Both residency related and non-related. And what topics to pay more attention to? Thank you in advance 🙏

In your cycle of matching into a pathology residency, how many IVs you got? What were your scores? And where did you end up matching?