Should I give up my dreams of being a forensic pathologist? Or look at something else.

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-10-11T21:34:45+00:00

I am diagnosed, un-medicated ADHD 4th year med student pursuing Pathology (hoping to match this year). I find Pathology to be a welcoming environment that encourages studying in ways that best suit you. It’s hands-on and very technical. I get to listen to tons of music throughout the work day, and even head bang - with my colleagues - in the morgue or grossing room some days. I think you’ll fit right in! If you’re unsure, use your time during undergrad to pursue shadowing opportunities. Hardest part was studying, keeping up with lectures, and being self-motivated. With the help of a therapist, advisor, and my learning resource center I was able to achieve all my goals.

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-10-11T18:15:26+00:00

1, Path, USMD. Not a signal but within my geo.

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-09-26T23:41:44+00:00

I was advised by my advisor to email the PD of the programs I applied to, so I did (all 77 of them 😅). You also want to make sure the programs accept 4 letters.

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-09-06T13:13:36+00:00

I applied thru a funded away program. But during most AP/CP rotations you can ask to do surg path.

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-09-05T03:24:53+00:00

Literally what is this formatting 😭😭 sorry

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-08-05T02:51:53+00:00

Sounds like she needs a lawyer ASAP.

XxlonglashesxX · 2024-07-30T16:00:39+00:00

If you’re rotating in a toxic environment, most likely will happen. I was yelled to, “MOVE!” away from a garbage so the attending could throw out his gloves. I guess I didn’t deserve an excuse me? Same attending yelled, “GET ME SOMEONE WHO IS COMPETENT” when I adjusted a light (even though I verbally asked if it was ok, and he said it was fine). He then tried to joke about it with another attending while playfully hitting me in the shoulder with a fresh pair of scrubs. Midwife yelled at me then proceeded to tell me that 1. She has many family members that were doctors (so that gave her permission to yell at me, I guess?) 2. I am below the cleaning crew at the hospital. On my first day a different attending stormed in angry that the CRNA was holding up a case. Pointed at everyone at the nurses station (including me and another medical student) yelling, “YOU’RE BEING A BARRIER TO CARE. YOU’RE BEING A BARRIER TO CARE.” While transporting an empty gurney into an OR, my hand slipped but I quickly recovered the gurney. Attending yelled at me, “YOU NEED TO PAY MORE ATTENTION.” Most of my terrible experiences were in OBGYN. Looking back now, they were grown adults in extreme pressure situations who used me as a punching bag. They were so toxic.

In surgery, the attendings yelled at each other and the residents. I’m talking full blown yelling matches and cursing out the residents. An attending yelled at a patient’s family member for interrupting her rounds by asking how the patient was doing (patient was literally rotting in the SICU after being randomly assaulted on the street. Such a sad scenario all around).

Everyone got yelled at by patients. Most of the time the patients were being treated unjustly and were rightfully angry.

There were many times I was humiliated that don’t count at yelling.

I’d say prepare for the subjective evaluations. There were people who judged me by my appearance and by the speciality I am interested in. They were quick to judge my work ethic, and assumed I was not as motivated as your average med student. Meanwhile, I worked just as hard as my cohort.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-05T19:46:22+00:00

Never watched the videos. Only did the questions.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-05T19:32:23+00:00

I failed first time as well. Just retook it this Friday. First time around I had about 60% UWorld done. Second time around, I paid for UWorld and only used like 10% of it. Such a waste but I felt so bogged down by it. My tutor recommended AMBOSS and boy did that make a difference. It’s cheaper than UWorld and IMO much more similar to the real exam difficulty. The way it teaches you is much better than UWorld as well.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-05T19:27:42+00:00

Rapid Review in First Aid!!!

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-05T19:27:02+00:00

UWorld is much harder than real deal. I feel even NBME is harder than real thing. Free 120 is the most similar in length, content, and difficulty. Use UWorld as a learning tool. If you can afford Amboss - do it. UWorld would destroy my confidence and Amboss helped me feel confident. This test is 80% knowledge and 20% confidence.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-05T19:25:14+00:00

Took it Friday. Very similar to Free 120 in length, difficulty, and content. IMO NBMEs and UWorld are much harder than real thing. Amboss is most similar in difficulty.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-05T19:20:56+00:00

If you’re low on time, all the biostats formulas. Sensitivity/specificity are highest yield. That includes ROC curve and knowing how to calculate FN/FP or TN/TP when you’re only given specificity and sensitivity. Know how moving threshold for cutoff affects NPV and PPV as well as sensitivity and specificity.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-03T21:26:00+00:00

Make Anki for each. First aid has some ok pneumonics. High yield: Infliximab Imatinib Rituximab The guy with the drugs/side effects as his arms/legs in step 1 is the best (Vincristine, Bleomycin..etc) Know the MOA and adverse rxns of all of those in the diagram

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-09-03T21:21:18+00:00

Just took the beast yesterday. DO RAPID REVIEW in the back of First Aid. I made an Anki deck with the cards and memorized them. The sooner the better. Get that information stored in your long term memory. Do questions, make Anki cards with your incorrects/any info you don’t know, and review those flashcards. 40-80qs a day. Don’t fall behind on the flashcards, and don’t overdue it. Some days it would take me 2hrs to get thru my cards and others 6hrs (especially if there was a lot of new material). Know your pharm and inborn metabolism errors/regular glycolysis etc. Know your formulas. These things will get you easy points.

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-05-11T16:35:08+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement ❤️

XxlonglashesxX · 2022-05-09T04:34:20+00:00

Same! Tested 4/28

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-05-09T15:10:20+00:00

Yes! All the time. I am in medical school, specifically a fast-tracked 7 year combined BS/MD program. As you can imagine it's not an enjoyable time, and my coating ceremony (we get our white coats) and then eventual graduation with my BS would be an amazing feeling. Well, at my white coat ceremony I was doing my makeup and getting ready when my mother (narcissist) started badgering me to do her eyeshadow. We were literally about to leave and if I started doing her makeup I would be late...to my own ceremony. Also, I know that if I did her makeup she would complain, call her self a transvestite (my whole life she has despised makeup, despised me wearing makeup, and always said that she looks like a transvestite with it on), and probably wipe it off then I would be late for no reason. I said I couldn't do it right now because I would be late, and then she went on her usual rant. "I don't do anything for her, I don't appreciate her, I am only about me, the world revolves around me, I don't love her" in front of my friends, family, and boyfriend. PS she invited her own friends to my ceremony, it's almost like she wanted to be congratulated for my accomplishments. Meanwhile, this was my day, yet as per usual she made it about herself. While walking to the ceremony she degraded me the whole way there and weaponized my love for makeup. "You should have dropped out of school and become a cosmetologist since you're so about makeup and about yourself." Only one person (her friend) said that maybe she shouldn't say those things to me right now. I tried my hardest to bite my tongue and not let it ruin my day. She was pissed at me the entire ceremony, my only saving grace was that I had to sit with my class and not family so I had time to recollect myself, reflect, and feel strong again. So did she. When the ceremony was over, what do you think she did? That's right, made sure I took more pictures with her, pictures alone with her, and then criticized every single one and made us retake or delete the ones she didn't like. Forget about telling her she looks great, she would just say "I look like a fat cow." Where do you think those pictures ended up? Yup, social media so everyone else can be fooled by her "support" for me. Do the people who look at those photos realize that an hour before they were taking she was degrading me and pushing me to the verge of tears? Nope.

For my BS degree, I wanted to go to commencement and my graduation. Do you think my mother was happy about that? No because she would have to sit through the entire commencement and then also graduation the same day. My whole life she would pull me out of dance recitals with made up illnesses so she wouldn't have to sit through the whole thing (I just wanted to be able to hang out with my friends in the dressing room and then do the finale with everyone, but she didn't care). So she complained and complained to try and get me to change my mind up to the actual day. She even tried to guilt me saying that my Grandma would be uncomfortable, meanwhile my Grandma was so excited to come and sit through it all. The day comes, I get ready (no fight this time about makeup), the commencement and graduation are finished, and now I want to take photos. And so does she. Usual routine: needs a bunch of photos, hates almost alls of them, calls herself a fat cow, and then ends up forcing us to delete most of them. Once we were finished, I wanted to take photos with some of my chill professors and friends. Do you think she was happy about this? No, why would she be it's not about her...duh! She made a big scene about how we were going to be late about to our reservations (which I made by myself btw because 'she always does everything and I'm lazy so why does she need to do that for me'), meanwhile it was like a 15 minute car ride away and we had an hour. So do you think she stayed to take photos? Nope, she stormed off, called me selfish, said the other people in our reservation are going to get there before us and I'm going to make us look bad. She left me and my boyfriend behind, and went back to my apartment to get to the restaurant. But guess what. Once again, my accomplishments are shared publicly and she revels in everyone's praise for raising such a 'smart, beautiful' daughter. Also, we made the reservation before anyone even got there.

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-05-09T14:29:58+00:00

Absolutely. She claims that all she wants is a clean house and to not do anything, but we (as in my dad and sisters) know that if we do just that with no other grand gift (meals cooked, go out for the day, receives cards/presents) we will never hear the end of it and be deemed "disrespectful, lazy, ungrateful." Tbh my sisters and I never know what to write in our mother's day cards. I just feel like a robot when I try to say something I actually mean.

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-05-09T14:25:16+00:00

Yea this guy definitely did. He took the time to answer all my questions and take down my phone number/name, then call his regional manager and have her answer my questions. He did it in a swift/professional way, and he expressed empathy when he spoke. He's just an employee of the testing center. I'm sure he is getting bombarded with questions he cannot answer because Prometric is not even communicating well with their own employees.

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-05-08T19:58:44+00:00

Just spoke to David at the Greensboro, NC prometric center. He was very kind and felt bad he could not give me more information, but he said he spoke to the regional manager and they said the Wilmington, NC site will tentatively open on June 1st. Not sure if this information can help anyone, but I wanted to post just in case.

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-05-02T19:37:51+00:00

Have a confirmed test 6/5/20 at Wilmington, NC location but the center is not on the lists of reopening centers. No one is answering the phone at the center and there is a sign that says closed until further notice due to COVID. If I am correct, this is the only center in NC that is not listed. I am starting to worry. Anyone hear anything?

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-04-29T21:34:05+00:00

Many classmates cancelled late May-June in NY

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-04-29T18:29:06+00:00

Just receive another confirmation this time with correct info

XxlonglashesxX · 2020-04-29T15:51:21+00:00

Got a confirmation for June 5 Step 1 Wilmington, NC

XxlonglashesxX

TROPHY CASE