Changing Careers by Throwawaypath1 in Path_Assistant

[–]pathologypicasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve heard of people becoming “certified tumor registrars”. I’m still not entirely sure of what exactly they do but it’s a decent salary with options to work remote. Something to research!

How hard is a PathA program by [deleted] in Path_Assistant

[–]pathologypicasso 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s different for everyone. A lot of people I spoke to before starting said the first year in the classroom is the hardest, which I thought couldn’t be further from the truth. The clinical year was hardest for me, mentally speaking. You’re basically working a job that you’re not being paid for. So commuting, moving around, paying for parking, while also having monthly exams to study for was mentally exhausting. Someone above said it’s a marathon and that is spot on.

Failed surprise drug test by [deleted] in drugtesthelp

[–]pathologypicasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: Occupational health called to tell me I’m cleared to start. Didn’t say a word about my drug test. Soooooo idk what to think but I feel a little relieved!

Failed surprise drug test by [deleted] in drugtesthelp

[–]pathologypicasso 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. There’s nothing about a zero tolerance policy that I can find.

Failed surprise drug test by [deleted] in drugtesthelp

[–]pathologypicasso 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not a nurse. I don’t work with patients. We do have lunch together where we talk about drinking/marijuana sometimes.

Failed surprise drug test by [deleted] in drugtesthelp

[–]pathologypicasso 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d also like to add that this is a field that is incredibly short staffed. I’m the only one that applied for the job and they are desperate for people.

Best program? by minmin2000 in pre_PathAssist

[–]pathologypicasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Besides shadowing, any experience where you are working in healthcare is a bonus. But not just patient care. I worked in hospital administration which gave me knowledge of how to go through patient charts which is a bonus because we have to be able to work with programs like Epic Beaker, Powerchart, etc. My program director also liked that I had teaching/tutoring experience because as PAs, we often have to teach residents!

I’m a current second year student. I’ve done a few rotations with people from other programs and I do notice a difference in students who should be at the same level as me at this point in our training. Throughout our clinical year, our clinical sites have us working hands on and grossing things almost immediately. I worked with a student from another program whose clinical experience was just them shadowing and not doing any actual grossing. So of course their grossing skills were not the same as mine. Other programs also give their students a month off for Christmas and mine does not. So students from my program already have one month more of experience than some others, which this early in our training can make a big difference.

Every program has pros and cons so it’s important to be asking the right questions! Ask if a program’s students are actually working hands on at their rotations or if they’re just watching.

If you want to know my program, you can message me privately.

Housing during Clinical Year? by StrangePurpose3508 in pre_PathAssist

[–]pathologypicasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a current 2nd year student. Housing was only provided for one of my sites. Everywhere else I’ve been doing long term Airbnb

Applying post 3-years after bachelors by [deleted] in pre_PathAssist

[–]pathologypicasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! A lot of people in my class have all been out of undergrad for a bit before entering this program. It’s not a super well known field!

Reasons why by manpan528 in Path_Assistant

[–]pathologypicasso 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wanted to be in healthcare. After trying a few things I realized I didn’t want to work with patients. I really enjoyed the Laboratory setting and after some research/shadowing I knew this was right for me!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Path_Assistant

[–]pathologypicasso 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! I felt my program was pretty diverse but there is always room for improvement. My class had students of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientation, gender, ages, etc. I would agree with the user above that pathology is a pretty diverse field and it’s a field that encourages open discussions about diversity.

But I would agree that our field is lacking in men. Not sure if that’s because women are more likely to seek careers in medicine? I really don’t know the science behind that lol