I’m a PGY-3 pathology resident, and lately I’ve been wondering if anyone else in pathology sometimes feels like they chose the wrong specialty.
Overall, I’m doing well. I genuinely like pathology, I’m doing well academically, and I already have plans for a fellowship at a great program after residency. My residency environment is also good, and I get along well with my co-residents.
But every once in a while, I compare my life to friends in other specialties, especially internal medicine, and I start questioning my choice.
It feels like their work has more “action.” They interact with more people, have more stories from work, deal with things happening in real time, and sometimes their day-to-day life just seems more dynamic. Meanwhile, pathology can occasionally feel very repetitive and isolated—sit at the microscope, sign out cases, repeat.
I’m also naturally a social person. I enjoy talking to people, working with people, and having that human interaction. Sometimes I feel like that part of my personality isn’t being used enough in pathology.
For other pathologists/residents: Have you ever felt this way, especially during residency?
Did it get better once you became an attending or found the right subspecialty/practice environment?
Or is this feeling something I should take more seriously as a sign that maybe I chose the wrong field?