Friday 3 February 2012

So You Want To Be A Pathologist Assistant?

Pathologist assistants can earn in the range of 70k to 100k each year. Over time, proficiency and experience help a pathologist assistant earn more than $100,000/year. This is a consistent, high paying job in a field that is still growing, even though other careers are suffering as a result of the recession.

Pathology can be defined as the study and diagnosis of illnesses via the examination of organs, body fluids, tissues and cells. A pathologist assistant is directly supervised by a pathologist who is licensed. His duties and responsibilities include :

The responsibilities that the licensed pathologist deems necessary and authorizes him to do, which is normally based on the previous experience of the pathologist assistant.

Whatever the states says he can and cannot do.

In same manner as other physician assistants, a pathologist assistant works with a checks and balances system. If the PA says that a patient needs tests, then the checks and balances system should be in place to determine whether or not this was indeed a good decision on the PA's part. Circumstancs and restrictions such as these are different in each states.

This because the job is so important overall. Basically, pathology helps to find what caused the actual disease. All things such as the diagnosis and care of the patient totally depend on the information that is contained in the pathology reports. Pathology discovers and enables healthcare professionals in eliminating medical conditions that impact the community.

The pathologist assistant is directly supervised by a licensed pathologist while performing tasks that are related to pathology and anatomy. The three kinds of pathology assistants perform examinations on the body, cells or tissues.

A pathologist assistant can prepare and dissect specimens, obtain and examine medical histories, prepare tissues for procedures like histology, photograph specimens, perform postmortems, and even be involved in administrative functions.

Most pathologist assistants opt for surgical pathology as the pathologist assistant salary is high in this area of medicine.

Typically , you must have a biology, medical or chemistry bachelor's degree. You can apply to the Pathologist's Assistant Program if you have finished either one of these degrees. You could possibly have a degree in another applicable area of science.

The training program consists of two sections. The first part consists of the actual training that takes twelve months to complete. It is followed by 10-12 months of clinical work. Whenever they get knowledge and experience in the fields of cytotechnology and clinical lab science, this is usually the time that most students choose to go into the program.

After the program is complete, students must pass the national certification exam and obtain a license from the state. After completing the program, the graduate is conferred a Master's degree.

The American Society of Clinical Pathologists is an official group of pathologist assistants. It provides continued education for its members. Every practicing pathologist assistant must keep his license current and active at all times.

Pathology assistants are more and more in demand as time goes by. The United States has designated more work related duties for physician assistants. Doctors rely on the expertise of physician assistants and give them more responsibility, which depends on their overall experience and rulings of the state. The pathologist assistant salary typically starts at $70,000. The demand for such assistants outstrips their supply and all graduates can expect to receive employment letters before leaving their program. Pathology assistants usually work in locations such as medical examiner offices, research labs, pathology labs, hospitals and academic environments.

This article provided a little information about the PA designation and why these professionals are paid so handsomely. This career path helps to determine diseases and help the society grow as a whole.

No comments:

Post a Comment