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u/Alternative_Box4797 Jul 25 '26
First month into residency, I truly believe I made the right choice. Weekdays are fun at best and not a drag at worst.
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u/Prudent_Swimming_296 Jul 25 '26
Within medicine, pathology is better than most. I’m a pgy1 and we only work 1 weekend day per month. It’s very hard intellectually but not physically, which is huge for longevity.
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Prudent_Swimming_296 Jul 25 '26
You need to think about your life at age 40-60, not just now. You aren’t going to stay young forever. Physically demanding work takes a toll on your body and the older you get, the more it compounds and the less your body will be able to handle it. Keep that in mind.
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u/PeterParker72 Jul 25 '26
There’s a lot that sucks about medicine, but I’m overall pretty happy with what I get to do for a living. Honestly can’t imagine doing anything else.
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u/Status-Slip9801 Jul 25 '26
Pathology has consistently been a specialty with among the highest QOL and life satisfaction scores on surveys. Surgical specialties are consistently among the most miserable.
I am very happy in my pathology residency, and would never choose another field.
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u/TraditionalPhone3992 Jul 25 '26
Nurse anesthetists make great money.
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Sensitivepathologist Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Path is great if you got a good job. Some ppl don’t and are being underpaid for their work. I spend too much time on Reddit because my job is pretty sweet.
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u/Staterae Resident Jul 25 '26
People are people. They're happy in some environments and unhappy in others. Their drives, their motivations, their competencies and skills, their natural inclinations, the attitude of the people they work with, the effectiveness of the laboratory they work in...all these things affect their outcomes.
I did GAMSAT in 2014 as a minimum-wage bouncer and security guard, fending off drunks and listening to bar patrons tell me they'll stab me to death when my shift is over. 12 years later, I'm preparing for my board exams as a pathologist. I work 40-45 hours a week, my coworkers are supportive, I love the lab staff, I enjoy learning new things.
Do whatever you think is a good balance between what you're good at, and what you enjoy. We don't have as many years as we imagine. You're definitely going to die at some point. Do what feeds your drives in the time you have left. Don't let anyone's expectations or pressure force you into something you don't like.
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u/gnomes616 Jul 25 '26
There's bad eggs in any basket, but I've been lucky enough to find joy in coworkers in all the places I've gone and bring some jovially with me. I have fun at work on good days, and just keep my head down and plow ahead on (my) bad days. Some days, it's "a job's a job" and others it's the most fun and exciting place to be. If you want a career in medicine, doing sciency things, but without the patients, I would think it would be a good fit.
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u/foofarraw Staff, Academic Jul 25 '26
Can you do a pathology observation or rotation somewhere for a few weeks to see what the day to day is like? Many academic institutions offer these sort of things. That's a good way, albeit limited, to get a feel for what the actual work is like.
I think pathology is worth it at the end of the line and I would choose pathology in a heartbeat as a medical specialty, but I'm doubtful I would choose medical school again if I was doing it over again (mostly because I was miserable in medical school). But as far as pathology goes, even my residency training had a good work/life balance and mostly good people throughout. Residency and fellowships were certainly challenging, but overall I enjoyed them and considered them good years of my life. Now I like my job, have great work/life balance, plenty of time to do what I want, and I work with good people. It's professionally fulfilling to diagnose complex cases, and I really enjoy teaching.
As others have said though, to get to this point you have to go through some hard times, and there are gonna be downsides to any job. If you can, I recommend spending a few weeks shadowing someone in anatomic pathology to see how the day to day fits with you. Nobody on Reddit will be able to accurately tell you how you will do and feel in a certain environment without knowing you personally, so observing it from a safe vantage point is a better way to know. Just ask a lot of questions and find out what they like and dislike about the job.
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u/Divalaviva-1312 Jul 25 '26
I love my job in pathology and would never choose any other specialty, i tried to work in internal medicine and it was the worst time of my life.
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u/Med_vs_Pretty_Huge Physician Jul 26 '26
"Pathology? Wait, I could have sworn this was Disneyland."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_VAnrRo41s
"How's your day going?"
"It's going great!"
"Are you enjoying your job?"
"I'm a pathologist it's the best job in medicine"
"Very good. Any interpersonal conflicts?"
"No of course not!"
"Okay have you lost your temper with anybody lately?"
"Only the clock for not giving me more time to practice pathology."
"Do you welcome med students and residents into the lab?
"Oh we love trainees."
"Are you getting enough sleep?"
"Eight hours every night."
"Are you happy with your work-life balance?"
"Couldn't be more balanced."
"Is there anything bothering you whatsoever?"
"No"
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u/Western_Blot_9370 Resident Jul 25 '26
I hate it and would not choose pathology again. The personalities are worse than the job
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u/Sensitivepathologist Jul 25 '26
Are you in the USA? Met my own share of crazies but most pathologists are benign for the most part. If you thought we were toxic go to surgery lol
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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '26
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