Becoming a Pathologist
This article is a transcription of a conversation between a Medical Pathologist and students from Johnston Middle School, Johnston, Iowa. It discusses what Pathology is. Pathology as defined in the article, is the study of diseases that occur in humans (human pathology) or in non-human animals, or also known as veterinary pathology. Or in simple terms is the study of abnormalities in tissues and organs. Pathology is such a vast field that it is divided into sub specialty, this sub specialty looks at the different part of the body. There is hematology, microbiology, cytophatology and histopathology, among the other branches of pathology.
In becoming a Pathologist, one must have a bachelor’s degree, a Doctor of Medicine, and then another five years of training in a pathology residency program. This will lead to a specialization in Human Pathologist. A Veterinary Pathologist has a different course, which is having a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and other additional specialty training. The author then narrates on how he became interested in Pathology. One must have an interest in biology and medical research, as the author became interested during middle school. Pathology is not a specialist medical science (although contradicting as pathology is a branch), is involved with diseases in the entire body along with general practice of medicine. Unlike other medical field wherein specialization is required such as the brain, skin, or the abdomen, pathology lets you work and with diseases that can afflict any part of the body.
Difference of Medical and Forensic is also discussed in this article.
A pathologist always works using a clinical microscope. Clinical microscopes are categorized under light microscope, wherein light waves provide the illumination. Bright field microscope is the most commonly type of clinical microscope. A clinical microscope is bifocal, meaning it has two eye pieces for viewing of the specimen. Clinical microscope has variable magnification but there is a limit to the amount of useful magnification. Going beyond will result in a poor image. There is another type of clinical microscope in which it allows a pathologist located thousand of miles to analyze a specimen; this is known as Telepathology, an emerging field in analyzing specimens using sophisticated equipment along with a microscope. This is useful when an area does not have a pathologist to analyze the specimen (due to the place does not have the resources to employ a full time pathologist).
The importance of autopsies in medical science, when an autopsy is never performed, and the feeling of a pathologist towards his work, and situation that he is involved in are all discussed in this article.
If you have been watching too much CSI on TV, you might be disappointed to know that not all pathologists are involved in performing autopsies, and solving the mystery of death, and having that adrenalin rush, although a different excitement is still involved in performing analysis taken from living patient. This specimen (taken from a biopsy procedure) is analyzed under a clinical microscope, helping doctor diagnose a disease. Becoming part of a team of doctors in finding a cure, gives you another kind of satisfaction. read more...
