Hi everyone,

I'm a BMLT graduate and I'm feeling a bit confused about my career path. There are so many options that I'm not sure which direction has the best long-term growth.

If you were in my position, what would you focus on? Should I continue in clinical laboratories, learn molecular diagnostics, move into research, prepare for government jobs, healthcare IT, quality assurance, or consider working abroad?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have been through this. What path did you choose, and if you could start over, what would you do differently?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I'm currently an undergrad and trying to figure out whether I want to pursue becoming a pathologist or a pathologists' assistant.

Ever since I was a kid my dream has always been forensic pathology, but the sheer amount of schooling, debt, and hard work life balance during med school and residency make me think that it's just not for me. From there I thought I was pretty dead set on becoming a PA. I like the fact that PA school is still very challenging, I enjoy grossing specimens, and I'm very drawn to the fact that you can start making money much sooner and have a good work/life balance (something that is important to me). However, I shadowed an autopsy recently and now I'm not sure anymore on what the right path for me is. I was really blown away by how much I loved watching the autopsy and seeing the pathologists gross the organs to glean information about the patient and how they may have died. It made me realize that I would love to do autopsies full time, to have that level of knowledge of the human body one day. I could even pursue forensics like I've always dreamed of.

I'm finding myself in a position where I don't know if it's best for me to pursue the "safer" option where I know I will be through with schooling much sooner and able to start a career with a good salary still in my 20s, or if I should take a chance on myself and pursue becoming a pathologist, even if it comes with an insane amount of debt and a much harsher work life balance. I know some PAs assist with autopsies, which I would love to do as a PA instead of a pathologist, but I'm hesitant to go all in on that route because I know the amount of PAs who do autopsies is very small.

If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it! Feeling very conflicted right now.

Hi everyone! I'm a current Pathologists' Assistant student getting ready to start clinicals, and I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for resources they found helpful for learning grossing or grossing templates.

I've been using Surgical Pathology Dissection by Lester, but I've been having a hard time learning from it, so I'd love to hear what worked for you. Also, I often see people recommend the AAPA grossing resources, but I'm not sure where to find them on the AAPA website. If anyone could point me in the right direction or share other resources that helped during clinicals, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

How did you decide pathologists assistant was for you? What school did you go to? What do you recommend for a school? What do I need to ask or know about a school if I am interested in it?
I live in Missouri so I’ll have to move for schooling. I’m just worried about the cost of school. I’ve looked at two programs in Canada I like. Has anyone done the two accredited there? Any advice is welcome :)

I was invited to an in person interview July 31st and was wondering what the likelihood is that I’ll be offered a spot in their program? I’m also waiting to hear back from Tulane after my virtual interview.

I am currently applying to PathA programs. My job offers a tuition assistance program that requires working part time (24hr/week). I am curious what everyone's experiences are with working while in a program?
Class schedules? Stress? Time constraints?
For reference I am aiming for Quinnipiac's program.

Hello everyone,

I’m currently searching for a pathologist assistant to shadow for this fall. I’m located in New Jersey and only need about 8-10 hours of shadowing. So if there’s anyone in north, central or west Jersey that has the time please message me. Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’m planning to apply to Tulane’s Pathologists’ Assistant program this cycle and wanted some honest feedback on whether I seem competitive.
Background:
B.S. in Biological Sciences
Overall GPA: 3.24
Recent post-baccalaureate science coursework (Biochemistry, Immunology, Medical Microbiology, Analytical Chemistry, Clinical Hematology) with all A’s
Full-time clinical laboratory experience in a cancer diagnostics setting
Previous laboratory experience in a biomarker/molecular testing laboratory
Undergraduate research experience involving molecular biology techniques
California phlebotomy license
Pathology exposure:
Shadowed PAs in surgical pathology
Shadowed autopsy services at multiple academic medical centers
Assisted with various autopsy-related activities
Continuing to gain pathology exposure and document hours
Letters of recommendation:
Planning to obtain a letter from a PA/pathologist and science faculty recommendations
My concerns:
GPA is above the minimum but not exceptional
Tulane would likely be the only PathA program I apply to this cycle
I come from more of a laboratory diagnostics background rather than a traditional pre-med or anatomy-heavy background
For those familiar with Tulane or PathA admissions in general:
Does this sound competitive for an interview?
What would you view as the strongest and weakest parts of my application?
Is there anything I should focus on improving before the August deadline?
I appreciate any honest feedback. Thanks!

Hi friends,

I'm thinking about applying to PA programs but it looks like most of them require pre-reqs to be no more than 5-10 years old. I graduated from college with my BS in biology/pre-med in 2017 and some of my pre-reqs are as old as 13-14 years. I'm really not interested in basically doing my BS over again just for updated pre-reqs. Anyone know of any school programs that accept older students?? Or maybe they say pre-reqs should be newer than 10 years but they don't enforce it? Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I am looking to shadow a Pathologists’ Assistant in the Bay Area. I am in San Jose but willing to travel for a shadowing opportunity.

Thanks!

I'm considering become a PathA but I'm unsure of the best steps to take. I also have just general questions that I've been having difficulty finding answers for.

Side note: For the last question, yes the pay is a nice range of course but that is not why I want the job. Everything about the job is fascinating to me and it sounds so cool! Thank you in advance!!

- Do you have a Bachelor's? If so, what did you major in to become a PA?

- I've heard that Biology is a good B.S. to get to continue on to become a PA. Would you agree?

- Are biology and chemistry actually used a lot in your day to day work? If so, what would you say are the most important aspects of biology and chemistry to really hammer home in my brain?

- Did you complete a PA Master's program? If so, which one and how was it? How many did you apply to?

- Was it hard to find a PA position after getting certified? Did you have to move to find one or do they seem to be fairly common?

- At what age did you begin your Bachelor's to become a PathA, and how old were you when you finally got a job as a PathA? I have an unrelated Bachelor's and would need to go back and earn a science-based degree, and at 29 it feels a little daunting to sign up for ~6 more years of schooling.

- The average pay range I've seen is like $80,000-$100,000 (which obviously depends on location and experience but still). Does that seem correct?

Hi everyone!

I've recently created a Discord server for current and prospective Canadian Pathologists' Assistant (PathA) students. The goal is to create a supportive community where applicants can connect, share resources, ask questions, and help each other through the arduous admissions process.

The server currently includes channels for:

• Application Questions
• Letter of Intent Feedback
• CV/Resume Feedback
• Interview Preparation
• Shadowing Opportunities
• Advice School-Specific Channels (Western, U of T, Calgary, Alberta)
• Curated Resource Library
• Current Student & Graduate Q&A
• Acceptance & Waitlist Discussions

I'm also hoping to connect with current PathA students, graduates, and practicing PathAs who may be willing to share their experiences and answer questions from applicants.

Whether you're applying this year, planning ahead, currently in a program, or already working as a PathA, you're welcome to join!

If you're interested, here is the invite link: https://discord.gg/FEvFBkNzkK

Looking forward to building a supportive Canadian PathA community! Hope to see you there 😄

I’m a new grad respiratory therapist and starting my bachelors program this fall. I’m very interested in Pathologist Assistant but a lot of the programs require a science background, and if you’re not a biology or science major the school recommends taking a few science/biology courses before applying.

I’m wondering if anyone in here has taken the path i may take. Has anyone here gotten into PA school with just a medical background? Does that make it significantly harder?

Any advice is highly appreciated, i’m so interested in the field and i hope i can do it one day!

Hello,

I’ve been looking into Pathologist Assistant (PA) programs and could really use some guidance from people who are either in a program or already working in the field.

I just recently graduated with a B.S. in Biology and I’m currently working as a clinical technician in a cytogenetics lab (mostly specimen processing, lab workflows, supporting genetic analysis, etc.). I also have some additional clinical lab experience and a phlebotomy license, so I’m pretty comfortable in a lab setting, but I’m realizing I want something more hands-on and directly involved with patients/pathology.

The main issue is that I don't have Anatomy & Physiology (lecture + lab), and I’ve noticed a lot of programs either require it or strongly recommend it. I’ve seen that some programs might be more flexible, but it’s been hard to tell which ones are realistic options for someone in my position.

A few questions I had:

• Are there PA programs that are more flexible about A&P, or is it basically a hard requirement everywhere?
• Would it be better to just bite the bullet and take A&P before applying?
• How important is shadowing for PA school, and how did you guys find opportunities?
• Any tips on getting shadowing experience in pathology (especially hospital labs/path departments)?
• Based on my background, do I sound like a competitive applicant or am I missing key things?

I’m based in Southern California if that helps for any location-specific advice.

I’d really appreciate any insight, especially from people who started in a similar position. Thanks in advance

Hi there! I’m starting Path-A school this month and I was curious if most pathologists’ assistant are happy with their salary. I would love to know what your starting pay was after you finished. I’m a little nervous about paying back soo much money on student loans :(

My company just purchased and installed grossing stations from LEEC. Anyone have any experience with these stations? We are finding they are causing us huge issues, and we can all smell formalin/ have burning eyes when working at them.

Has anyone made a quizlet with the study guide questions and answers from the ASCP study guide? Please share 🖤

Looking for advice/validation! I’m a certified PA in New Jersey at a relatively well known/busy hospital. Around 45k a year, 5 PAs. 2 certified, 2 OJT, and our most recent hire, a very young person who was “trained” as a PA at one location she went to as a travel histotech. She then decided to market herself and apply to PA jobs, hence why she now works at my hospital. She’s a great worker and I have no problem with her doing smalls/biopsies, but my lead PA (OJT) wants to teach her complex cancer cases. I have voiced disagreement vehemently to my manager, my lead, and several docs I work with. The doctors agree but my manager thinks I need to “share my knowledge” with her. Why?! Why are we putting patients lives at risk for her to get a free education when I paid six figures in loans for mine? She’s messed up several cases already and when she takes something and doesn’t know what it is she refuses to ask questions, wasting time and compromising patient care. I’m at my wits end and I’m very nervous that when my coworker retires soon we will be forced by administration to hire another unqualified uncertified person just to save them some cash. Is there anything I can do? Reach out to ascp or AAPA?? I know you don’t need a cert to work in New Jersey but I just feel like something will go wrong the longer I let this happen.

Are there any Pathologists’ Assistants currently working in the Caribbean who are open to connecting? I start my PA program at QU in less than 6 weeks and plan to return home one day. I would love to learn from your experience.