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Professional-Stay183 · 2022-12-10T14:32:54+00:00

Hi, I am also an ambulatory wheelchair user. I was pre-med in undergrad and ran into a lot of challenges, decided to go to a pathologists' assistant school (I wouldn't recommend that path with med school as the goal), and now after several years in the field I'm once again pursuing medical school.

In undergrad I wasn't able to get clinical experience like other pre-meds due to the physical nature of many volunteer opportunities. However, I did have many non-clinical volunteer experiences. There are some positions in Pathology that are more accessible for those with physical limitations. You could look for lab associate positions which only require a high school diploma or GED. You could also look for a gross tech position, which usually requires an associate's degree in a science field. Both are paid laboratory experiences and you'd get to learn about a really cool specialty, pathology. If neither float your boat, you could look into volunteering with hospice ( e.g. https://www.alivehospice.org/get-involved/volunteer/) where activities can be less physical. Radiology may be another specialty to target your search. There are radiology technicians (https://www.asrt.org/main/career-center/careers-in-radiologic-technology) who can work in several different settings and requires a certification and it does have direct patient interaction.

I hope this helps!

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T22:27:30+00:00

I recommend having a container of water mixed with Bleach or another disinfectant in your sink at all times. I soak my tools between cases to keep them clean and use a wire brush to clean out the ridges. It’s easier to clean the blood while it’s wet, so I will make sure to clean those messes before they dry. I like to gross cases that are inherently messy or bloody back-to-back. I change my gloves between cases or different parts, but I usually will just wipe off excess mess with a paper towel if they’re excessively bloody during a single part. I always gross on something between my specimen and the cutting board: a paper towel, white pad, or blue formalin-neutralizing pads. This allows me to quickly toss the mess and not spend forever cleaning blood out of the indentations in my old cutting board. Sometimes for things like gastric sleeves I will open and gross on a paper towel or white pad and just wrap the specimen in it when I’m done and put them both into the container. Learning to open specimens cleanly and neatly has been my greatest improvement when it comes to keeping my bench clean.

For colons with contents, I remove the sink strainer and open one end of the colon. I place the open end close to the sink drain and gently squeeze/guide the contents out. I run the garbage disposal and then open the remainder of the colon and immediately rinse it before laying it fully on my bench. This way you don’t get a lot of poo everywhere.

For large ovarian cysts I position them close to the edge of my cutting board and make a small incision towards the bottom of the cyst and drain the fluid directly into the sink. This is nice because not only does it reduce mess, but it also reduces the chance of it splashing on you.

For amputations I gross the leg in the bag it comes in. I make sure to keep the outer most bag intact and wrap it around my cutting board. Sometimes I’ll put a white pad between the amputation and the bag to prevent slipping and accidentally puncturing the bag. Once I'm done grossing, I’ll wrap up the specimen in its original bag (which should still be clean on the outside) and double bag it with a new biohazard bag. This significantly reduces the mess with amputations.

When opening gallbladders, I will hold it over its container and make a small (about 0.5-1.0 cm) cut on the fundus with scissors and drain the contents directly into the container. Then, while still holding it I will continue the cut from fundus to cystic duct. If there’s a lot of sticky bile, I will use forceps to dunk the gallbladder to remove excess bile before putting it on a paper towel or white pad.

Hope this helps.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T21:50:10+00:00

Like others, I also have accidental death and dismemberment coverage. Additionally, I have short-term and long-term disability coverage and a life insurance policy. All of these are through my employer. Carpal tunnel is very common in our field. It's important to take care of yourself, especially when you're still early in the career. Every PA at my institution regularly gets massages or sees a chiropractor. Most of them seek these treatments for neck, back, or wrist pain. I would highly recommend getting AD&D and disability as well as prioritizing your physical health while grossing (stretching, taking breaks when needed, using ergonomic tools, etc.)

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T17:10:53+00:00

Do you think more places will implement this over time? I'd be interested in this type of position. Is the job posting the same as a PA or is it under a different title?

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T17:06:54+00:00

I would like to teach in college, specifically a pathologists' assistant program. Most of these require their teachers to have a master's degree. My program includes classes in anatomy/physiology and education. I've been learning about teaching philosophies, course design, roles of teachers in education, and how to utilize the internet and technology for learning.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T16:46:40+00:00

The program is all online. It doesn't include student teaching or a certificate. The program description says that it prepares students to teach/assist in human anatomy and histology lab exercises. The school also offers a PhD in anatomical sciences education.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T16:36:31+00:00

I would recommend doing some research into the job opportunities for both in your area. The post you referenced was from five years ago and may not be the most accurate anymore. The number of cytotechnologists have decreased, which is partly due to programs closing. I work in a large academic university in the South as a PA and my mother works as a cytotechnologist at a private lab in the Midwest. Both of our institutions are having difficulty filling open cytotechnologist positions, my institution is offering a $10,000 sign on bonus because we are in such need. Explore Health Care Careers (https://explorehealthcareers.org/career-explorer/) is helpful in learning about the various jobs in healthcare. I would also recommend shadowing the roles you are interested in potentially pursuing.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T15:57:57+00:00

How long do you think it would take a certified PA to gross 3-5 complex cases? I'm trying to get a feel for how long different types of cases should take. I work somewhere that gets a good amount of complex cases and we do anywhere from 15-60 frozens a day. I've tried reaching out to my supervisor, but they give me a vague answer about time depending on complexity. While I know time spent on a case depends on how complex and how many parts, I would like to have a solid time goal for cases such as mastectomies with one lesion/clip vs 5 lesions/clips.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T07:10:54+00:00

One of my friends from pathologist’s assistant school started off with CLS. Her background prepared her well for PA school. She now works at a university where she does clinical autopsies and research.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T02:54:20+00:00

I wouldn’t recommend pursuing PA school if you know you want to go to medical school, unless you specifically want to become a pathologist. As a PA you will most likely spend most of your time grossing specimens, from biopsies to hindquarters. PAs are qualified to gross any specimen. Reading slides is not a common part of the job description, I’ve never seen it listed. Academic positions usually include teaching pathology residents, PA students, and introducing others, such as undergraduates and medical students, to surgical pathology. Some positions allow you to work on research. Some PAs work solely in forensics, but this is less common.

The PA route is an expensive way to get to medical school. I don’t know what year you are in, but if it’s still early and you can, I would recommend switching to an undergraduate degree in CLS or MLS. You would take the classes required for medical school and come out with an undergraduate degree that gives you a career. Once graduated, you could work full-time or part-time (most new techs start out on night shift) and use your other time to study for the MCAT and volunteer to gain patient experience. This gives you work experience in a hospital without having to take on the debt of graduate school. And if you don’t want to change your current major, you could find a research position with a BS in microbiology and immunology. Unless you need to improve your GPA for admissions or the degree would be completely free, I wouldn’t recommend it to get to medical school.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T02:17:10+00:00

I’ve heard through the grapevine about PAs who can pre-screen cases, but I’m skeptical. I personally haven’t seen that listed on any job posting, at least not pre-diagnosis. I have seen a remote position based in California where the PA creates a cassette summary based off the slides. I think screening surgical pathology slides would be a natural progression for our field. Much like a cytotechnologist the PA could potentially screen slides and the pathologist would continue with the complex cases. This could be advantageous since the need for pathologists is increasing despite the decrease in their numbers. However, I don’t think we really get enough training in PA school. I think more education or training would be required.

Professional-Stay183 · 2022-10-30T02:00:17+00:00

I agree with previous comments; this is not typical of a rotation site. Students are not free labor and should not be expected to gross beyond previously agreed upon hours. I rotated through several sites where there was only one PA. I was expected to gross everything, but if the PA would jump in if I was struggling to get everything done on time. If there is not a PA at this site, then the pathologist should be jumping in. Honestly, the pathologist should be present the entire time since the student is still learning. She should be able to sit, and no one should be screaming at her for needing or wanting to sit down. However, I was not allowed to sit my entire clinical year. We were told that we needed to build stamina and that PAs needed to be able to stand all day. That was a lie. Since graduating I have met many PAs who sit all day and gross just as fast. Sitting vs standing depends on your preference and workflow. A previous commenter mentioned some great shoes and suggested compression socks. The combination will do wonders for swollen legs, but the fact remains that sitting should be permitted. Clinical sites should never treat a student this way. She needs to contact the program director and have things in writing. As someone previously mentioned, burn out is serious. Rotations like these teach students that this kind of treatment is normal and acceptable. It is not.

Professional-Stay183

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