Criminal Justice Career Option: Pathologist
Twenty years ago, physicians had relatively few laboratory tests to use to detect disease. With advances in biomedical science, over 2,000 tests on blood and body fluids are now available. Medical technologists and other laboratory personnel work with pathologists to insure that these tests are available to your physician when and where they are needed, and that the results are accurate. Pathologists often help to determine which test is most effective for a complete diagnosis.
Some tests, such as a glucose test, produce results that are understood by all physicians. Others require specialized professional interpretation by an expert, usually a pathologist. All tissues removed at biopsy or surgery are examined under the microscope by a pathologist who makes a diagnosis. Pathologists assist surgeons during operations by providing immediate diagnoses on biopsies (sometimes called frozen sections) - specially treated tissues removed in surgery and rushed to the lab. The pathologist quickly provides information to help the surgeons complete the operation in a way that assures the best result possible for the patient.
With the help of cytotechnologists, pathologists also examine cells taken in a Pap smear or through fine needle aspiration (FNA), to detect abnormal cells that might signal cancer.
FNA allows physicians to remove fluid and cells from a suspected tumor using a hollow needle and may take the place of surgery to obtain a biopsy.
Traditional microscopic examination is now complemented by a sophisticated array of high tech electronic and molecular biologic techniques. Genetic analysis of DNA or chromosomes in cells are good examples of these new techniques and often allow more accurate and timely diagnosis on small biopsies and cell samples.
Pathologists work in many areas of the medical laboratory, and a pathologist usually serves as Director of the Laboratory. In the blood bank, pathologists and medical technologists insure that the blood or blood products which you receive are safe for you. In microbiology, microorganisms-bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites-which can cause infections are identified and the most effective drugs to treat a particular infection can be determined.
In clinical chemistry, many hundreds of tests are available which measure the amounts of materials such as glucose and cholesterol in the blood, urine, spinal fluid, or other body fluids. In immunology, tests that measure the body's response to infection or disease are performed. Many infections, including hepatitis and AIDS, are diagnosed by detecting the antibodies that the patient's immune system makes to fight the infection. In diseases such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, the body actually makes antibodies against itself.
A popular perception is that the pathologist's major responsibility is performing autopsies. Although an autopsy is an important part of the diagnosis and treatment of deadly diseases and provides valuable information to the patient's doctor and family, it is only a small part of the typical pathologist's practice. Pathologists who specialize in performing autopsies to investigate unexpected or suspicious deaths and determine the causes are known as forensic pathologists or medical examiners.
There are approximately 12,000 board certified pathologists in the U.S. who practice their specialty in community, university, and government hospitals and clinics, in independent laboratories, or in private offices, clinics, and other health care facilities. Some pathologists devote their careers to research in pathology, developing new tests and new instruments to better diagnose diseases.
Pathologists often teach their specialty in medical school pathology programs to educate all physicians, future pathologists, and other students in the medical laboratory professions - medical technologists, cytotechnologists, histotechnologists/histologic technicians, and medical laboratory technicians. After completing four years of medical school, pathologists need four to five years of residency training to be eligible to take board certification examinations. Many pathologists also undertake additional training in a subspecialty of pathology.
The medical laboratory is one of the "first stops" in preventive medicine, which puts pathology among the most cost effective health care services. Since Americans are living longer than previous generations, forecasters predict that preventive medicine will become even more important, for it provides the best chance of containing spending on the nation's health care. This means the laboratory and medical testing will be in greater demand to rule out incorrect diagnoses, to detect diseases early - in many cases before any symptoms arise - and to insure that a chosen treatment is working. Pathologists are pledged to foster wise use of pathology laboratory services and to be the patient's advocate for high quality, cost-effective laboratory testing. In this way, pathologists help their patients to be healthier and more productive throughout their longer lives.