Pathology As A Career: A Career In Pathology

645 Words2 Pages

Kinley Finke
Mrs. South
Language 6
18 February 2014

A Career in Pathology
A pathologist is a doctor who studies disease. They work in laboratories and they examine tissues and other samples in order to diagnose diseases. When they make a diagnosis, they share their findings with the doctor who is in charge of taking care of the patient who has the disease. With challenging diseases and conditions to examine, a pathologist learns something new every day.
In order to become a pathologist, it takes four years of college and then four years of medical school. After medical school, they take at least four years of training in pathology. The four years of training after medical school are called residency training. Following residency training, some pathologists decide to do additional training called fellowship training which can last another couple of years (Educational Requirements and Career Summary).
Pathologists spend their workday in the laboratory, which is where tissues or organs are delivered after they are removed from patients in surgery or at the doctor’s office. It is in the laboratory where the pathologists examine these specimens. The first step is to look at the specimen without a microscope and describe its features. This is a process called “grossing”. The pathologist looks at the specimen and then selects tissue, which will be processed and put onto slides so that the pathologist can look at it under the microscope. By examining the tissue, the pathologist can make a diagnosis. The diagnosis is then reported to the doctor who is in charge of taking care of the patient.
Pathologists typically work a regular workday, for example eight o’clock in the morning to five o’clock in the evening. However, path...

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...thologists being trained to take their place. Also, as the population of the United States gets older, there is more disease to diagnose, so the need for pathologists increases. These two things combine to make pathology a good career choice for the future” (Finke).
Bibliography
Educational Requirements and Career Summary. 2003. BBB. 18 February 2014 .
Finke, Jean Meredythe. "A Career in Pathology." A Career in Pathology . Kinley Jean Finke. Columbia, 15 February 2014.
Kumar, Robbin and Contran. Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th. Pennsylvania: W.B. Sauders Company, 2009.
Sifferlin, Alexandria. Doctors' Salaries: Who Earns the Most and the Least? 27 April 2012. 18 February 2014 .

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