Keep Track of your Interview Invitations with Interview Manager -- It's Free!

Pathology

Competitiveness: Low

A pathologist deals with the causes and nature of disease and contributes to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment through knowledge gained by the laboratory application of the biologic, chemical and physical sciences. This specialist uses information gathered from the microscopic examination of tissue specimens, cells and body fluids, and from clinical laboratory tests on body fluids and secretions for the diagnosis, exclusion and monitoring of disease.

ENTER YOUR CREDENTIALS Customize your Pathology program list

IMG Profile

Average Stats for a Matched US IMG in 2022:

  • USMLE Step 1 score: 219
  • USMLE Step 2 CK score: 228
  • Research: 2.9
  • Abstracts/Presentations/etc: 5.6
  • Work: 6.3
  • Volunteer: 3.3

Average Stats for a Matched Non-US IMG in 2022:

  • USMLE Step 1 score: 232
  • USMLE Step 2 CK score: 238
  • Research: 2.9
  • Abstracts/Presentations/etc: 10.5
  • Work: 5.7
  • Volunteer: 3.5

Specialty Factors

Every specialty has unique factors they want each candidate to have in their residency application. NRMP conducts regular Program Director surveys to identify which parts of the residency application are most important in differing specialties. Among the information gathered, Program Directors were asked to cite factors they used to select candidates for interviews. They were also asked to rate each factor on a scale from 1 (least important) to 5 (most important).

The Top 5 Most Important Pathology Application Factors

Percentage of Programs Citing Each Factor

  1. USMLE Step 1 score (97%)
  2. USMLE Step 2 CK score (93.9%)
  3. MSPE (87.9%)
  4. Any failed attempt at USMLE (87.9%)
  5. Class ranking/quartile (75.8%)

Average Importance Rating for Each Factor (scale of 1 to 5)

  1. Applicant was flagged with Match violation by the NRMP (4.8)
  2. Perceived commitment to specialty (4.7)
  3. Letter of recommendation in the specialty (4.5)
  4. Evidence of professionalism and ethics (4.5)
  5. Personal prior knowledge of applicant, Audition elective/rotation in PD's dept(4.5)

Fast Facts

Total Training 4 years
Average Residency Salary $58,521.49
Average Physician Salary $334,000
Average Work Week 49.2 Hours
Peak Interview Months October-February
Offers the following program training tracks: American Board of Pathology
College of American Pathologists
United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology
Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Investigative Pathology
Association for Molecular Pathology
Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology
Association of Pathology Chairs
  • Some combined programs take 4 years of training while others only require 3 years
  • Most Pathology residency programs finalize their Rank Order Lists in February
  • While research looks good on your MyERAS Application, do not see it as mandatory. Many sources call Pathology research “icing on the cake” for applicants to have

Match Statistics

Main Residency Match and Post-Match Stats

274

IMGs Matched

168 /
631

Number of Programs/Positions

12

Post-Match SOAP Unfilled Positions

Main Residency Match

PGY-1
Loading...

Post-Match SOAP

Program Track PGY-1
Participating Programs 8
Filled Programs 6
Positions Available 10
Filled Positions 8

Subspecialties

  • Anatomic Pathology
  • Blood Banking-Transfusion Medicine
  • Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology
  • Chemical Pathology
  • Clinical Pathology
  • Cytopathology
  • Forensic Pathology
  • Hematology
  • Immunopathology
  • Medical Microbiology
  • Molecular Genetic Pathology
  • Neuropathology
  • Pediatric Pathology
  • Radioisotopic Pathology
  • Selective Pathology