Pathologists Assistant

[wholeheartedly]

Anyone have insight on what the job market looks like for Pathologists Assistants?

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[coroner]

Way better than it is for pathologists...

 

[wholeheartedly]

Way better than it is for pathologists...

I figured that much.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

Way better? I don't know about that. We have never used PAs and have no intention of it. Hell you can just train some bio major if you really need help.

 

[coroner]

My understanding is based on having spoke with PA students at my former institution (large academic center) who rotated through there, as well as another histotech who left histology to enter PA school. The consensus after talking with them is, the market is strong once they graduate. There are not that many PA programs in the country, so they keep their supply low and the demand high i.e. the inverse for pathology residency programs.

From working with pathologists over a wide age range, my observation is the older generation of pathologists in general don't seem to mind doing their own grossing to reduce costs/maximize profits vs the younger gen. who would prefer the lifestyle (not calling you an old-timer, Webb 😉). Who wants to be throwing colon polyps in a little bag until they're 65 y.o.? Like you said, you don't need a PA to do that, heck I could train a 7th grader off the street to do biopsies. As more and more smaller hospital labs are dying off and volume is getting centralized at core hospitals/labs, volume is going up at the latter. But there's usually a tradeoff as a pathologist, if you don't have to gross, then the more glass you have to push...

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

When PAs can pick and choose where they live and work, I will be saying their market is way better. Very niche field with a job market that swings shortage to surplus quickly. If pathology truly wants a midlevel, produce someone who can gross, handle those waste of time "adequacy" assessments and police the histotech fights.

 

[Guest8]

My understanding is based on having spoke with PA students at my former institution (large academic center) who rotated through there, as well as another histotech who left histology to enter PA school. The consensus after talking with them is, the market is strong once they graduate. There are not that many PA programs in the country, so they keep their supply low and the demand high i.e. the inverse for pathology residency programs.

From working with pathologists over a wide age range, my observation is the older generation of pathologists in general don't seem to mind doing their own grossing to reduce costs/maximize profits vs the younger gen. who would prefer the lifestyle (not calling you an old-timer, Webb 😉). Who wants to be throwing colon polyps in a little bag until they're 65 y.o.? Like you said, you don't need a PA to do that, heck I could train a 7th grader off the street to do biopsies. As more and more smaller hospital labs are dying off and volume is getting centralized at core hospitals/labs, volume is going up at the latter. But there's usually a tradeoff as a pathologist, if you don't have to gross, then the more glass you have to push...

We don't do any of our own grossing, we have PAs and grossing techs for that. But we're hospital based and split the PA/tech cost w/ the hospital since they get the TC. Maybe we'd gross our own bigs if we got the TC, but as it is we would pay far less per hour for the PAs to do it than it would cost for us to do it. About 1/5 the cost.

 

[octopusprime]

We don't do any of our own grossing, we have PAs and grossing techs for that. But we're hospital based and split the PA/tech cost w/ the hospital since they get the TC. Maybe we'd gross our own bigs if we got the TC, but as it is we would pay far less per hour for the PAs to do it than it would cost for us to do it. About 1/5 the cost.

Same. Our volume necessitates having several PAs...unless we started working 12 hr days and weekends and cut our vaca in half, it makes more financial sense to pay some PAs versus hire another pathologist. And since the hospital owns all the equipment and employs the technicians, we wouldn't be collecting any technical even if we grossed.

 

[deleted314957]

When we owned our histo lab we had a number of PA’s which did not count the derm and biopsy folks who were not formally trained as PA’s We found them invaluable.

 

[HeyDalaron]

I see no reason to not have a PA

 

[AZpath]

I was in a group that refused to hire a PA or even use a tech to gross small bxs.
The group would have gone to 3 from 4 with a PA. Man that really costs ya.

I have a much smaller practice. I trained my histotechs to do 95% or more of the gross.
I gross the breast specimens and a few other malignant specimens where it helps to have hands on.
This is the perfect fit for my practice.
A larger practice would benefit more from a true PA.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

All you need is someone with a Bachelors and you are set. You don't need to hire a PA.

 

[coroner]

I was in a group that refused to hire a PA or even use a tech to gross small bxs.

Let me guess..old timers?

The group would have gone to 3 from 4 with a PA. Man that really costs ya.

Why would you increase the number of pathologists if you had hired PA? Assuming your volume is the same and you get a PA, that should cut down the number of pathologists you would need?

A larger practice would benefit more from a true PA.

This pretty much sums it up. Lower volume, private practice, would not be cost effective to hire a PA, since most pathologists don't want to sacrifice $100K (or so, including benefits). Higher volume practices, it makes sense to have a PA.

 

[Iceman24]

I've heard about two pathologists working as a PAs in NYC. It says it all, pretty much.

And please don't start this "they were not competent, or they didn't pass their boards, or..." BS. It only makes it sound like all the graduates of internal medicine programs are superstars.

 

[WEBB PINKERTON]

They need to leave and go rural. No reason to work as a freaking PA just so you can live in the big town.

You can hire a PA for like 40 thousand. They are called out of work B.S. biology majors or even histotechs/med techs who have a BS degree in something. No need to spend 100 thousand.

 

[Guest8]

They need to leave and go rural. No reason to work as a freaking PA just so you can live in the big town.

You can hire a PA for like 40 thousand. They are called out of work B.S. biology majors or even histotechs/med techs who have a BS degree in something. No need to spend 100 thousand.

Our grossing techs go for $40K. Our PA's are more like $95K. For us PA means fully trained Pathology Assistant that went to Pathology Assistant school. The BS grads right out of college are our grossing techs that do small biopsies, gallbladders, appendices. They can't touch the bigs.

 

[coroner]

Our grossing techs go for $40K. Our PA's are more like $95K. For us PA means fully trained Pathology Assistant that went to Pathology Assistant school. The BS grads right out of college are our grossing techs that do small biopsies, gallbladders, appendices. They can't touch the bigs.

☝️This☝️

Good luck trying to hire a full-time PA for $40K. Their job market is too strong to be low-balled like pathologists, some of whom will accept $100K just to live in the big cities/coasts.

 

[deleted314957]

This

Good luck trying to hire a full-time PA for $40K. Their job market is too strong to be low-balled like pathologists, some of whom will accept $100K just to live in the big cities/coasts.

Agree, at least during my incarnation.

 

[octopusprime]

☝️This☝️

Good luck trying to hire a full-time PA for $40K. Their job market is too strong to be low-balled like pathologists, some of whom will accept $100K just to live in the big cities/coasts.

most of the PAs I know make low 100s, some well into mid 100s with benefits. Physician assistants and NPs make well into the low 100s as well...it's fairly standard. That's kind of the going rate for midlevels. Funny how that works with supply & demand.

 

[Med Director New England]

most of the PAs I know make low 100s, some well into mid 100s with benefits. Physician assistants and NPs make well into the low 100s as well...it's fairly standard. That's kind of the going rate for midlevels. Funny how that works with supply & demand.

This is my experience too.

 

[univlad]

For general pathology practices, what volume of specimens should a full time PA be able to gross?

 

[AZpath]

Let me guess..old timers?

Why would you increase the number of pathologists if you had hired PA? Assuming your volume is the same and you get a PA, that should cut down the number of pathologists you would need?

This pretty much sums it up. Lower volume, private practice, would not be cost effective to hire a PA, since most pathologists don't want to sacrifice $100K (or so, including benefits). Higher volume practices, it makes sense to have a PA.

Sorry I mean going down from 4 to 3 pathologists