Back in October we were given a rotation schedule. First question to answer is no, you do not choose where you go for rotations, Michelle and Justin place you. I have 9 different rotations, and most are 6 weeks long and a couple are 3 weeks long. Most are surgical pathology and a couple are hospital autopsy/medical examiner oriented. Only a few places provide housing, so the game plan is to book longer stay air bnbs out of pocket where it’s too far of a commute. Most of my classmates found a house to rent outside of the city of Pittsburgh and others will also find longer stay hotel/ air bnb type places. These are the types of finances to consider before signing up for your masters since there truly are a lot of expenses to consider along the way. When I say out of pocket, I mean I take out graduate plus loans from studentgov.org but others have different methods I’m sure that’s just my plan. You have an orientation early November and Justin gives you a student handbook for rotations. You should read through and pay close attention to your sites because there is overall paperwork then there is specific paperwork required by different sites but Beth Ann really helps you make sure all things are in order so now I get to just read through and make sure I understand what the handbook has before starting. Before finals week, I went and typed up a lot of my notes that were from AT such as the non-complex to moderately complex specimens and collected my CPT codes, CAP retention times and organ weights and put them into paper covers in a binder since you are allowed to have notes with you on rotations and I will probably use them a lot at the beginning especially. I got a $20 Robbins pocketbook too that I’m pretty excited about and asked for new scrubs and new hard top shoes for Christmas gifts from family members this year. It was a very PA styled Christmas I’d say:) I also bought a couple notebooks, big and little so I can remember to take notes to keep in my pocket and study from about protocols or things that I learn in each rotation. By finals in December, if I don’t know off the top of my head what sections to submit for a TAHBSO benign vs malignant or even a right total hemicolectomy well, then I shouldn’t have passed since these are the types of automatics that by the end of the year become second nature to just list if someone asked but there is a lot more than just sections. I’ve been reviewing differentials, for example what are the types of renal pathologies? Well, you could have a polycystic kidney, benign but nonfunctioning, RCC, oncocytomas, cortical adenomas, transitional cell carcinomas or even mets. Grossing will change your sections so understanding history, previous bx etc. is important to look over. However, it’s the little things you don’t want to forget such as skins biopsies, gallbladder sections, bone marrow bx and how long to fix something before decaling or what fixatives are needed for EM instead of light microscopy. There are basics that you should never forget no matter how complex the specimens become that you learn over a year! I also collected some example dictations as well to have in my binder in case, although everywhere has different methods. This break has been very refreshing, and I think we will all be ready to start another tough year after this much needed time for family, holidays and like a said a lot of Netflix. PS, no direction quite yet on Covid Vaccination requirements although I’m sure its coming soon. Hoping we can be apart of the movement towards Herd immunity this year as students in healthcare!
On the Right Path(ology) 