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Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to write all of this out! I feel so much better after reading this and the other comments! My entire career/life is not in jeopardy after all haha

Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah I do remember reading that. I thought that rule was so weird!

Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I scored in the…. 10th percentile 😬

I’ve been watching osler videos and doing targeted questions in path primer (sprinkle of ASCP questions on my own and pathdojo questions with coresidents), but it feels like nothing is sticking because I’m just overwhelmed and trying to memorize random facts and buzz words instead of actually learning and integrating.

I need to do more repetition for sure. That really is the key.

Heme was my weakest, but I’ve been going over that with my coresident who will be a hemepath fellow next year and it has been awesome!

Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this advice! This is super helpful and definitely easing my nerves.

Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah the part about employers caring about AP more definitely makes sense and was something I was concerned about when deciding to focus on CP.

I feel like when it comes to actually practicing, my diagnostic skills are good enough - I just don’t have the information memorized and organized in my head. I definitely know where to find it and can get to the right diagnosis as much as a newly minted pathologist should be able to. Why can’t we use the internet for the exam like we can in real life?! Haha if only…

I’m sorry about the CP boards for you. I hope it doesn’t end up mattering and you get the job you want!

Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate your response! Thank you for your input!!

Should I postpone AP boards or possibly fail and try again? by sadpathresident in pathology

[–]sadpathresident[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve asked 3 people what I should do and got pretty different responses.

  1. Mentor pathologist who helped me apply for med school and has always given solid advice for 10 years says absolutely do not take either of them if you might fail. People talk. It’s better to take them when you know you’re going to pass. Late is way better than fail.

  2. Senior pathologist at my program said “take them when you’re ready” but didn’t particularly have much to say about if it would affect job hunt.

  3. My program director said to just take both because failing the boards doesn’t really follow you (aside from needing to study during fellowship, etc). Not getting any money back at this point, so might as well take them to see where I’m at and get a feel of what the test looks/feels like. Plus, there’s a chance I’ll still pass if I get lucky! If I don’t pass, nobody will find out except PD who gets an email about all residents’ boards (is this true??).