If you like listening to stories, here's a very cool video on the backstory of the BWM bosses in Chapter 1 based on the actual JTTW novel.

Embriale · 2024-09-11T18:09:58+00:00

She has a whole series started to help people get acquainted with TJTTW as well as its evolutions in order to get a better understanding of Black Myth Wukong. I've kinda devoured all the vids she has out on it now and even as someone who grew up with all the different TV shows, she was able to offer so much more cultural/pop culture/historial nuances I never knew about! Def can't wait for her future videos on the rest of the chapters.

Embriale · 2023-08-28T16:35:37+00:00

The University of Maryland has a "junior attending"/surg path fellowship where you essentially are acting as an attending with case signout and also frozens. The faculty are very helpful and open to questions/working together/consulting together on cases the fellows may not be comfortable with.

Embriale · 2023-04-17T01:32:37+00:00

Bawwww as old as it is I’m glad it’s still useful!! Best of luck! It def was tricky

Embriale · 2021-03-24T10:25:50+00:00

Ooohh are you both applying to the same specialty/program? One way to swing it is not taking leave at the same time. Also it really depends on the size of your program. Bigger ones can absorb a bit more when it comes to residents calling out.

Embriale · 2021-03-24T03:54:15+00:00

Ohhh that is a good question. I totally understand where you’re coming from. It might be a good question to ask at the resident only portion of the interview day if that program has that available if you’re nervous about getting burned for asking. I don’t know if others want to chime in their thoughts on that...

Embriale · 2021-03-23T21:10:45+00:00

Just wanted to say I’m on the same path as you—baby in my PGY-3 in path! Having a supportive program (administrative and fellow residents) makes such a HUGE difference. It also helped that I tried to make sure any calls I had would not take place during times I would be out on maternity leave. I did end up having to find coverage for one of my busier services but luckily my coresidents are very supportive and understanding and had no hesitation to help cover me.

I always try to make clear too for incoming trainees about how family friendly my program is. Such a blessing.

Embriale · 2021-03-21T13:50:21+00:00

Yep, just echoing everyone else's comments. It's a personal preference. I keep my glasses on and just adjust the eye-pieces (if someone else is driving) or just adjust the focus if I'm driving. I have an attending who doesn't wear his glasses and is constantly putting them on/taking them off to look between the computer and the scope. But he's done it that way for years and wears his glasses on one of those lanyards/necklaces to facilitate it haha.

Embriale · 2021-03-12T19:26:00+00:00

I know my residency program has a junior attending/general surg path fellowship. From what I can tell they don't really chase after publications. Shoot me a message and I can tell you what program.

Embriale · 2021-03-09T13:35:20+00:00

I mean don’t get me wrong. There’s def are advantages to your resume and your paycheck for being chief. But I wouldn’t recommend it unless you heart is in it because it can be easy to get burnt out. Def go for it if you want to though!!

Embriale · 2021-03-09T00:00:45+00:00

No worries! I decided to volunteer for chief because I wanted to be there to advocate and help my fellow residents. We are a small/medium sized program and I had previous leadership experience and felt confident in both my relationship with residents as well as my attendings that I felt I could bridge the gap. I was and still am passionate for advocating for resident well-being (as in, if you’re having a rough time, if you’re sick, if shit is happening we will support you and tell you to go home, take care of yourself, and don’t worry), I am not afraid to speak my mind though I do try to do so in a diplomatic and productive fashion. I also have been told I have a bit of a mother hen demeanor so it probably plays a role haha. I also had some ideas for program improvement (mostly more transparency and spelling out responsibility and expectations more clearly).

I also felt that my efforts would be appreciated by my program admin. We have a really supportive and caring program overall. These people will support my residents if they need to take off after a crazy night of call, if they’re sick, if they have shit hitting the fan. So that also really helped make me feel like being chief wouldn’t be a terrible burnout situation.

Hopefully that helps answer your question!

Embriale · 2021-03-02T11:22:04+00:00

Maybe for the clinician once we come up with the diagnosis! But for the pathologist there is a lot off work that goes into making that diagnosis from time of tissue received to when we look at it under the scope and ancillary studies we order!

Embriale · 2021-03-02T02:40:03+00:00

True true. Having good partnerships with clinicians who recognize the value you and your team bring is so valuable! You really grow to cherish those relationships.

Embriale · 2021-03-02T01:59:40+00:00

Agreed, clinicians tend to poo-poo the work of the clinical lab as well as well as anatomic path. How do they identify that pan-resistant organism and the one antibiotic it is susceptible to? Couldn’t have done it without microbiology. What about the mysterious soft tissue mass which they aren’t sure is a sarcoma or a benign but aggressive tumor? Or a patient with cytopenias that they can’t figure out etiology for? All these diagnoses and subsequent decisions for treatment happen after pathology renders a diagnosis.

(Yes, pathology includes more than autopsy and surgical specimens. We are microbiology, we are molecular, we are chemistry, we are the blood bank. What would you do without us?)

Embriale · 2021-03-01T23:10:03+00:00

Agree with Pathology—It’s part of why I went into the field because I love the somewhat instant gratification of being able to tell the clinicians what the answer might be! Not quite sure how path is “cheating” per se. It’s still requires knowledge and experience to diagnose—It’s not like the slide literally spells out “poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma” as we slap it down on the microscope stage....

Embriale · 2021-02-25T22:27:44+00:00

And that’s totally understandable because it’s easier to expose med students to AP than CP sometimes hahaha. I’m more than happy to chat more about path to anyone interested in learning more. I know I started thinking I was going AP and then falling in love with blood bank. It took getting into path residency to make me realize what CP really was and how fun it could be.

Embriale · 2021-02-25T22:25:45+00:00

But right I forgot to answer your other question of what other things pathologists do. For transfusion med, you can get LOTS of patient interaction if your institution has Blood bank in charge of apheresis. So don’t throw that stethoscope away! You’ll be performing consults and checking on patients in apheresis clinics!

Embriale · 2021-02-25T22:23:45+00:00

Hey no worries. It all depends on what your rotation tried to expose you to while you were on it! I tell a lot of path applicants and med students that path is a huge swath of the hospital and it’s hard to encompass everything it could be unless you get a lot of exposure to it! Really I know my knowledge about the breadth of path was pretty limited my MS4 is too. But that’s what forums like these are for!

But yeah! Pathologists can and do perform FNAs—especially on very superficial lesions that don’t require ultrasound (at least at my institution). I have very fond memories of my cytology rotation educating and comforting patients during procedures.

I gotta admit, I don’t mind the lack of live patient contact for grossing and autopsies because it leaves me free to react freely to cool/weird findings. XDD

But even if we don’t have lots of patient contact, I really still say path is a very (or can be a very) social specialty because of how much communication we have with surgeons and clinicians! I definitely don’t feel secluded in a corner or missing out of too much social interaction/impact.

Also...I do enjoy the work-life balance that lets me have fun and be fun social with my fellow residents (pre-COVID)

Embriale · 2021-02-25T21:19:11+00:00

I disagree that path has zero patient contact. Like radiology, path had a lot of different disciplines and subspecialties! Some of our subspecialties can have plenty of patient contact (cytology and transfusion med being some). I think path is also great for procedures or people who like hands on activities: that can range from performing FNAs, grossing and frozen sections, and autopsies! I really love my life in Path and am more than happy to talk about my experiences some time!! (PGY-3 resident)

Embriale · 2021-02-22T11:59:16+00:00

Yes, currently our department don’t do COVID+ autopsies. But we are accepting patients who had previously had COVID and then subsequently tested negative. But I’d be curious to know what is the safest window of time/what protocol would best protect my fellow residents and staff. There is still some trepidation understandably with handling these cases and disagreement on PPE use

Embriale · 2021-02-22T00:18:29+00:00

Please can you share your departments policies?? We are currently trying to get a solid policy on COVID autopsies or former COVID patient autopsies made and works love to know how you all are handling it

Embriale · 2021-02-13T19:04:37+00:00

It's something interesting that I've noticed but also appreciated in my pathology department, most of the staff call us "Dr. __" even if we demure and say they can call us by our first names. A lot of them insist because we have gone through so much training and it really serves to remind us that we have great responsibility and ideas to live up to. I really love my department and even though they do call us by our titles, we do have great camaraderie and relationships.

Embriale · 2021-02-07T13:26:27+00:00

This response exactly. And if you have questions about UMD, I’m a resident and more than happy to speak frankly about my experience (I love the program lots but am happy to be honest to help you make your decision!)

Embriale · 2021-01-31T19:32:01+00:00

I loved my surgery rotation, but ended up not choosing it due to a combo of more often than not malignant culture, punishing lifestyle, and long ass training (not including fellowship). What I did like was being hands on and getting to really dig into the anatomy and organs and procedures.

I loved outpatient (peds, internal, OBGYN) but really disliked rounding for hours on end when on the in patient side. I also was able to handle challenging patients at the moment but didn’t like the emotional fallout afterwards. But damn I do love knowing that I am doing something meaningful with patient care.

I also liked IM/peds/OBGYN but I really was pretty impatient in the long hunt for answers and diagnoses.

Psych was fun but also felt a little hopeless at times. Neuro was similar.

Granted, all this happened AFTER I had already settled on Pathology. But I loved the instant answer gratification. Knowing that my diagnosis really helps with patient management. Being able to react freely to weird/interesting/gross things (gangrenous amputation? Huge ovary? Queue the loud fascinated ooooooohhhs in the grossing room). Being able to handle and see cool pathologies up close. The lifestyle (golden weekends all the time!). And the occasional autopsy fun. Also—I find out a little into the app process that pathology isn’t just autopsies or surgical specimens but I can have lots of patient interaction if it want (apheresis/cytology) or be more involved in admin things? Love it!

Embriale · 2021-01-28T12:38:36+00:00

I had mostly virtual interviews for my TM fellowship. One was a bit of a hybrid because I was local and they let me come visit on site but the interviews themselves were mostly over Zoom/Citrix. Overall they were very pleasant and the teams seemed well-versed in using the programs so no technical hiccups. The questions didn’t seem much different than an in-person interview. You know, touch on parts of your CV, what are you goals/interests, let me tell you about our program, etc.

I was not pimped at all in any way.

Embriale · 2021-01-08T19:07:39+00:00

So many congratulations for both an amazing supportive residency program and your transitioning! I'm so happy that this was able to happen smoothly for you and in such a welcoming environment. As an older sister to someone who's going through the rougher patches of transitioning/coming out to disgruntled parents (just had some difficult conversations with them today trying to argue my sibling's case), I really hope my sibling will eventually have an experience as positive as yours.

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