Mar 11, 2010
What Is Pathology?
Pathology is a very varied field of science which focuses on the study of diseases. There is a broad range of careers in this field and a number of different routes of training people can take to become a pathologist. A pathologist might work in a lab tracking outbreaks of diseases and observing their consequences or a pathologist might work in a hospital testing blood samples of patients.
Early patterns of pathology can be traced back as far as the Islamic golden age in the 9th century when physicians began to use a degree of scientific knowledge when diagnosing their patients. There is evidence of early methods of identifying diabetes by actually tasting a patient’s urine.
Physicians will usually use pathologists as consultants, they may not directly interact with the patient but they will be asked to examine things like biopsies and blood samples. They may help diagnose the disease and often recommend treatments. They may not ever meet the patient but they will act as an important part of their medical team.
A forensic pathologist performs autopsies to determine a patient’s cause of death, this is sometimes considered more difficult than working with a live patient but the requirements of the results are much less urgent.
There are numerous variations of the pathology profession such as a research pathologist who studies general issues affecting health and disease. Veterinary pathologists specialize in animal disease while botanical pathologists study disease in plants. There are some who specialize in the pathology of a particular aspect of a human such as speech pathologists so the variety of career options attracts a wide range of skills.
To become a pathologist involves extensive requirements, you need to have a great knowledge of medical subjects but also be able to operate a vast array of scientific equipment. Most pathologists are required to be certified doctors before undertaking a residency in pathology.
If you are looking for a job in healthcare, then visit Nuffield Health for a list of Pathology Jobs in your region.