I am thinking about all my options for being a PathA…. Does anyone know if there are PathA positions in the military?

I was wondering if registration for the conference in Denver isn’t open yet or I’m just technologically illiterate 😂 Thanks in advance!

Currently a FD/Embalmer in IL. I’ve been trying to break into pathology by applying to entry level roles with hospitals with no luck so I’m exploring the possibility of going to PA school.

Anyone transitioned? What was it like?

Hello everyone,

Can someone tell me if I’m thinking about this too much/overreacting….

At my site the MLAs and the histotechs have a lead position. There are 3 total MLAs and 4 total histechs. However, due to the high turnover rate there has been times where the numbers between those positions have dropped to about 2. I find it odd that the PA position does not have a lead position or does not have a lead title… it’s frustrating that the other areas have this because they are therefore able to go to meetings, attend departmental interviews, help with CAP, etc.

There are currently 2 of us PAs. There is often a delay of us knowing new updates or news because we are never really included in the upper management’s decisions. Is this normal? Why are we (with the highest schooling) not included ? 😞

TIA!

Has anyone worked part-time as an MLS and a PathA at the same time? I've seen a lot of posts where people make a full switch from MLS to PathA, but never the opposite or staying as both. So, I'm just curious.

Hi everyone! Just curious if anyone here has considered doing/has done a PhD sometime after PA school, or knows anyone who has? I'm super excited about becoming a PA, but also very interested in being an academic/researcher. Just curious if anyone else has considered this path and if you have any advice! Thank you!

I’m a student starting my second year of PA school. I have read about this but I feel like it’s always different once you physically have the specimen in your hands and every case is a little different. I’ve only seen specimens in pictures/ in class.

I feel like this is a dumb question, but — For bowel resections, how do you find the true radial (or mesenteric) margin, and is it always cauterized? To find it, should I look for parts with cautery? I guess otherwise, how do you truly know that it is the true margin where it was resected from the body? Also, what does your measurement to the radial margin usually end up being (on average)?

I understand that depending on the part of the bowel, you will have the radial margin where the bowel is not completely surrounded by fat, and the mesenteric where it is completely surrounded. Does any outside fat surface overlying the tumor count as radial/mesenteric margin? Or do you have to look for telltale signs of resection such as cauterization?

I’m open to any insight or knowledge. Thank you!

Hello all, need some help in regard to shadowing.

I’m in the NYC area and am having a really difficult time finding a pathologist to shadow. I have done all the cold emailing stuff, only received two responses both of which didn’t really go anywhere, and the rest ghosted. I was actually in contact with the PathA program coordinator at Touro, and she told me that she couldn’t connect me with a doctor currently because the hospitals were full in terms of requests. I also reached out to the pre-health dean at my current undergrad university, but he basically had no idea what I was talking about in terms of what a PathA does/what it is lol.

I’m currently an undergrad junior and don’t really have anything to help build my application or resume besides my current course work which covers the prereqs for the program. I have no problem taking a gap year, but I’m getting antsy and I feel like I’m just sitting around wasting time.

Also what would you guys recommend to do in terms of work? I’ve lurked around some of the posts here and some have talked about being a Lab aide/lab tech/histo tech. Is that something that’s possible to do over the summer, or even part time during the school year? Would they even take me with no professional experience? How would I go about finding a job like that relevant to pathology?

Thanks for taking the time to read all this. I would really appreciate if anyone has some input!

Hello, my name is Milo, and I am pursuing a career as a Pathologists' Assistant. I’m currently looking for opportunities to shadow a Pathologist Assistant in the St. Louis area, but I’ve been having difficulty finding someone to connect with. If anyone knows of any PAs who would be open to allowing me to shadow them, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you so much for your help!

Hey friends, trying to start organizing my study materials for the board exam. Where does one find the AAPA study guide everyone talks about? When I click the links under “ASCP certification exam and study materials” on AAPA’s website, they all lead me to a 404 error page. TIA

for the record I live here and I'm from Queens but the fact that this job is pretty niche is kind of scaring me. Drop your salaries pls 🫶

Hi! I am a junior undergraduate looking into getting my masters as a pathology assistant. My school doesnt currently offer any assistant with shadowing so I was wondering if anyone had tips on how to obtain shadowing hours. I heard the best way is to do cold calls, but i’m honestly clueless on what to ask. I’m located near philadelphia/trenton so there are plenty of hospitals i could try. I also was open to taking a gap year to gain some work experience to strengthen my resume as well!

Hi! So, I'll be starting embryology soon, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on what helped them learn the material. I have YouTube videos bookmarked and bought the BRS Embryology book. Any other suggestions?

Hey guys! I’ll be starting school in May and I’m trying figure out how to prep. What did you guys do before your program prep wise? I’m talking like must have books/text that helped a lot, what to bring, best ways to study/electronics that helped the most, etc whatever else you wish you did/had before starting. Thanks!

Does anybody here regret not going to medical school for the higher salary potential and just general higher respect? If not, why do you like being a PA over a doctor? This is coming from a PA who changed from pre-med to pre-PA and is contemplating if I made the right decision.

I wear a face mask at work. Maybe I wouldn’t if I had started this career before 2020. But I get judged (mostly by the seasoned lab people) and questioned all the time… doesn’t it make sense to cover your mouth and nose in this setting? Between bone dust and surprise cysts, with our background of human biology, why is this still a question? Am I the crazy one? I’m the only one that wears one at this (large) facility.

Get ready for an enriching, hands-on experience as we take you on a journey through the labs with a focus on gynecological specialty from February 1st to 2nd, 2025. This year, we’re expanding the event to two full days of lectures, case studies and workshops led by local healthcare experts.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the field, this event promises to provide valuable knowledge and the chance to earn continuing education credits. The virtual lectures will offer 2.7 hours of CE credits per day, and the workshops add an additional 2.0 hours of CE credits per day.

The content is designed for all healthcare professionals within laboratory medicine, including students from related programs, and any allied health professionals with an interest in lab medicine. This is an excellent opportunity to network, acquire new skills, and gain practical insights that you can apply directly in your practice.

Don’t miss this chance to learn from leaders in the field and take your professional growth to the next level. Feel free to share this email with your colleagues or anyone who could benefit from attending.

For complete event details and to register, please visit our website at www.patoronto.com/event-details/ You’ll find information on the event agenda, speaker lineup and registration process.

This year, we are welcoming 52 in-person attendees as well as unlimited virtual attendance options. You can choose to attend one or both days of the conference. Spaces are limited and tend to fill up quickly, so be sure to register early to secure your spot.

Use “EARLYBIRD2025” to receive a 10% discount on your tickets, available until Jan 3, 2025! We’ll be sending out a student discount code to respective school programs so please be on the lookout for those as well.

Registration is now open.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at onlinepathologyconference@gmail.com

We look forward to welcoming you to this incredible educational experience!

Thank you,
The UHN PA Team

I am a Pathologists Assistant with 20+ years of experience. I can do complex cases and frozens. What is considered a good hourly rate for traveling?

Did a double take seeing this epic power tool on my local gardening page!! You could cut through so many toes with this bad boy. IYKYK 🤭

Hello

We have a rabbit brain from a rabbit that was showing neurological symptoms so we removed it and fixed the whole brain.

I was wondering what would be the best way to gross the brain in order to find the blood clot. Would a serial section in the coronal plane work best? How will I know if I'm close to the blood clot? How about a sagittal bisection.

I work in R&D and usually cut samples of rabbit brain and kidney to be sent out for histology to a 3rd party. Really appreciate the help.

I live in Houston. I make 70k as an MLS with a bit of overtime. I haven’t moved to another hospital after getting a few years of experience so I could potentially increase to 80k being closer to the city. My hospital is known for being the one that pays the least so there’s that too.

Super interested working as a Path A. Pays around 95-120k (max) in most states. Thing is I would have like almost 150k of debt due to studying so I would not be making more $ in the short term until I pay off the loan. I know there are repayment programs but with the upcoming president seems like he will remove those.

The thing that worries me the most are job positions. It seems there are barely any Path A (indeed, hospitals websites, linkedin, ascp etc.) positions and my partner works in a very competitive industry that get frequent layoffs, so I feel like being able to move around as a med tech would be super important.

Does it seem is better to stay as a tech?

So I’ve been a daily smoker for about 4 years now. I mostly smoke carts and 2-4 joints a week. I’m getting ready to shadow at a medical center as I’m aspiring to be a pathologist assistant, and they’re giving me a 5 panel drug test. Is there anyone who’s a smoker that tested positive for thc and was still able to shadow? Do they really care about thc being present or are they more so looking for the harder drugs? I don’t want what I do in my at home life to affect me getting my foot in the door and it took me about 6 months to find this one shadowing opportunity. I’m in NYC btw if that helps lol.