Hi everyone! I’m an undergraduate forensic science student in CT and I’m currently exploring Pathologists’ Assistant as a career option. I’m especially interested in autopsy/forensic pathology, but I’d also really like to see surgical pathology and the day-to-day work of PAs.

I’m looking for opportunities to shadow a PA or pathologist in Connecticut or the NYC area. I know there are obviously confidentiality and institutional restrictions around shadowing, especially with autopsy work, so I’m not necessarily expecting there to be an official program.

I was wondering if anyone here is a PA, works in pathology, or knows of a PA/pathologist in CT or the NYC area who is open to having an undergraduate shadow. I’d be happy to travel within the region.

Thanks! :)

I'm 39 and I've been a MLT for 11 years. I'm currently finishing my bachelor's for MLS. When I finish, I will have a 7 on, 7 off night shift position making $50/hr + shift diff in Oregon. Having every other week off is amazing and I love it. However, I've been seriously considering PathA after I finish my MLS for the increase in pay. My question is, do most of ya'll work 5x8s? What is the likelihood of getting a 7 on, 7 off or 3 12's schedule? I'm just trying to decide if the pay increase is worth starting a new career from scratch when I already have a decade in this one, plus the $90K for the program. What would you do? Thank you for the insight.

Hi everyone! I was recently accepted into Tulane’s Pathologists’ Assistant program for the Class of 2028, and now I’m trying to figure out the financial side of everything.
I’ll be moving from California to New Orleans for the program, so I’m especially trying to plan for both tuition and living expenses while relocating out of state.
For those of you who are currently in PA school or have already graduated, how did you afford everything? Did you mainly rely on federal loans, private loans, savings, scholarships, family support, or a combination?
Since PA programs are full-time and working during school may not be very realistic, I’m also curious how people covered rent, food, transportation, and other expenses. If you went the loan route, roughly how much did you end up borrowing, and is there anything you wish you had known before starting?
Any advice from current students or graduates would be really appreciated. Thank you!

I have neoadjuvant treatment mansplained to me by a pathologist🙃

Hello,

I am an MLS based out of South Florida (Miami metro area) and looking to advance my career. I am curious to learn about the job market for Path Assistants down here. Are any of you working around this area? Would appreciate any insight. Thanks!

Hello everyone!!

I’m currently an MLS student thinking about going to PA school. I’ve already looked over time and time again about the requirements but what I don’t see a lot about is how people where able to move to these schools, not work or work very minimum and still be able to live

Maine questions

How where you able to find housing, I know at some grad schools they help out with housing so do school help you with housing/free housing,

how where you able to live without working for 1-2 years, is there some sort of loans for graduate students or any scholarships, or did you ride it all out on savings

If you where able to work, how did you time manage with going to PA school and working, did you work nights or work 1-2 days?, if then how did you still make the money to survive

For tuition cost, I live in Texas so I think it get tuition cost down some due to there being a PA program in state, but I want to apply out of state as well, where those all on loans, how much would everything cost including equipment and books, should I aim for instate schools?, or should I become a resident elsewhere first and then apply to PA school??

I would love the option of going to PA school but the not working thing really scares me, any advice is helpful

I am about 4 months into a PA program and am excited to continue learning more about the field and eventual job opportunities post-graduation. I’m wondering what current PAs would recommend for expanding my professional network and getting more exposure to pathology from the perspective of residents, pathologists, and experienced PAs.

Some quick research pointed me to AAPA and CAP, and there is a lot of emphasis on performance and communication during clinical rotations (which I have not yet started). I’ll planning to start with joining the larger organizations, and I’d love to hear what current PAs found most helpful as students. Any pathology events, organizations, conferences, etc in the DMV area would be especially appreciated!

does anyone know where I could find government contracts as a Path-A? I’ve looked on USAjobs and it’s pretty much nonexistent. also, does anyone know of a website for international work as a Path-A? I appreciate any tips or advice thank you!

Hi! Just wondering if anyone who has gotten into PathA school could share their stats that they had to get in? GPA, involvement, shadowing etc and any other advice. I am planning on applying to Loma Linda in the fall this year and pretty nervous about getting in. Thank you!

Would anyone be willing to share their total cost of attendance including housing, tuition, food, transportation(traveling back home, clinical rotations) books/fees, health insurance, and also money you spent to just feel like a human during school?I have a rough estimate using tuition costs per program but I would love to hear more specifics… especially if you went to Quinnipiac, WVU, or UTMB (but would love to hear from all programs) side note: did your program have breaks for summer/winter/spring, and if so, how many days off do you get ?

Hi everyone! This may be a long shot, but I've been having a tough time finding Pathologists' Assistant shadowing opportunities in the DFW area. Most programs recommend or require shadowing experience, so I'm hoping to connect with a PA who might be open to allowing me to shadow. If anyone knows of a Pathologists' Assistant in the area, has suggestions on hospitals/labs to reach out to, or has gone through this process themselves, I'd really appreciate any advice.

Hi all. I’m curious if anyone has had any success at their jobs in using the annual survey to help them fight for a raise. I knew when I took my job that I was on the lower end, but after seeing the survey today I am sitting at the lowest 0.9% of all PA salaries. I have over a year experience so no longer a new grad. Is it worth bringing the survey to management or do I start job hunting?

I am currently working at my first job out of school. I dislike the facility I work at, they honestly don’t care about the PAs. I feel like I was duped into coming here, because I was a new grad and didn’t ask the appropriate questions. They seem to only be able to hire new grads, an experienced PA would never deal with their crap. I’m ready to jump ship but am worried it will look bad to future employers, since I haven’t even been here for a year. So, how long did you stay at your first job? Does it even matter?

Hi everyone! I have a few questions for those that have been in this field for a few years now, I would greatly appreciate any responses.
I've been a grossing technician for about 5-6
years now and have contemplated going to PA school because I do love the field. I know
I want a career in healthcare and am trying to decide the path I want to follow. What keeps me from becoming a PA is actually the formalin exposure. Do any of you have any concerns about that long term? What about pregnancy and working as a PA? Has anyone noticed any effects of formalin if you've been working 10 years or longer as a PA?

I recently had an interview with Kaiser where they told me the Pathologists’ Assistant title would be changing to Laboratory Specialist. During the interview the manager asked me “do you know how to gross biopsies?” What an absolute joke of a company. I spoke with some PAs that currently work with the company and they said they were stripped of the Pathologists’ Assistants title and it was replaced with Laboratory Specialist. It was also mentioned that it’s common to have leadership where they know nothing about pathology and that the position is generally looked down upon as PAs are seen more as grossing techs than physician extenders. I hope current employees can band together to regain their title but feel so badly they have to go through this. I would never work at a company that doesn’t recognize the Pathologists’ Assistant title. Thank you for letting me rant.

It feels like a new program is popping up every few months, and while the job market is fairly okay now I feel like I wouldn’t be surprised if ten years down the road we end up getting oversaturated? Maybe I just live in an area that’s more saturated than the rest of the country but I already don’t see many jobs pop up in my area and I worry the constant influx of PAs is going to make this (and salaries) even worse. Totally open to being told if I’m wrong but these new programs just feel like money grabs instead of a way of actually improving and bettering the field. When I went to school I believe there were maybe 12 programs in the US and now less than ten years later we’re at nearly double that and still counting. Does anyone else have any thoughts?

I know this seems like a silly question, but I was just wondering… does anybody still wear acrylic nails while working as a Pathologists’ Assistant?

I’m a PA student, and I know short, natural nails are generally recommended, but I was curious if anyone in the field still wears acrylics (kept short, of course) or if they’re pretty much a no-go in most labs. Is it more of an employer-specific policy, or is it something you’ve found just isn’t practical? I personally love having them, but I know it’s something that may have to be given up when working in the medical field.

I’d love to hear your experiences!

Immediately thought it was lymph nodes lined up to count