Sep 2, 2010

Tales from the Crypt...

Day 1:

Ishie: Ooh, an autopsy in the basement! What a wonderful learning experience!

PA: You two go down and label the cassettes. We'll be down soon.

(an hour passes)

(morgue phone rings)

Other med student: Um... hello?

Voice: SEVEN DAYS.

Just kidding.

Voice: Oh... are you guys still down there? We're doing the autopsy tomorrow.

Day 2

Ishie: Ooh, an autopsy in the basement! What a wonderful learning experience!

(PA unlocks door. Grenada sized roach runs across floor.)

Ishie: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Other med student smashes roach. Roach flips on back in center of floor)

PA: So, you won't need too much protection for this one... just a gown, gloves and shoe covers... you can come get them...

(Ishie remains pinned against far wall with arms crossed across chest. PA looks at her and looks at roach)

PA: You're a pathologist!!

Ishie: I'm not an entomologist!!

(PA sighs, takes broom and shoves roach through drain in floor.)

PA: They come up through it; I push them back through it.

Ishie: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your blog! I'm currently in my 3rd year at UCLA, and I'm thinking about applying to SGU. Good luck with finishing med school and matching into a residency!

Anonymous said...

Hi-I second the opinion. I am having difficulty with Path. Did you use any question banks? How did you prepare? Would you mind giving me some tips?

Thanks

Ishie said...

Thanks guys!!!

Anonymous 1: Awesome, but make sure you cover all options before going Caribbean. There are a TON of extra hoops to jump through, including a bunch of hospitals that won't even look at us without an ECFMG cert so going local is the best way.

Anonymous 2: Webpath was extremely helpful, both for tutorials and questions. A lot of people used the Robbins Review, though I didn't as much, but it has good stuff. I also tended to jog with Dr. G's lectures on my ipod. I found it way better than going to lecture, concise, and made fourth term much more enjoyable.

Exam-prep wise, pathology is also a time killer. I got some VERY good advice when I was studying for it to make really sure that you don't dwell on questions during the exam or you won't finish. This is particularly true of the hemepath questions. By the time you've made every value fit, you're out of time.

Make sure you know the actual path notes, but then elaborate on them. I had a really good path group so USE that time and preview the slides so you really get something out of it. I had a tendency to mentally blow off small groups, but path was the one place I really felt like it helped.

Anonymous said...

Ishie-
I am using webapath but getting a lot of the questions wrong. Exam in a few days. What do I do?

Ishie said...

That's okay; it's good practice.

Reread all the actual lecture notes and make sure you understand them. If you have good slides from your small groups, go over those too.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Ishie-First path exam went better than expected and I am finding the second part much harder. How important are the grades? Do you mind sharing? We are soo buried right now. Your blog gives great satisfaction. Hope you don't stop once you start your residency. Congrats on the interviews.

Ishie said...

Great news on the first path exam!

Second exam is notoriously difficult. That's the big one where the time-it-right advice is key. For hematopath in particular, don't try to make every value fit before you move on to the next question, know the lecture notes cold, and study with partners if you can.

Most people don't do as well on the second path exam as on the first so it weights the pseudo-curve they create. Due to getting the time advice between the first and second exam, I actually did better on the second one, but with what would usually be considered a low-B, I still got an A in the course, so don't stress it too much.

Thanks again!