Career in Pathology

Pathology is the demanding and evergreen field of medicine and diagnosis. Demand of pathologist is never ended. However, career scope in this field is vast.

The word Pathology is derived from the Greek word Pathos and Logia. Meaning of Pathos is “experience or suffering” and Logia means “Study of”.

In general, we can say that pathology is the “Study of Disease”.

“It is the branch of science concerned with testing the samples of body tissue in order to diagnose the problem and diseases”.

Medical pathology is categorized as clinical pathology and anatomic pathology. Clinical pathology is the study of disciplines of microbiology, immunology, clinical chemistry and Haematology. Anatomic pathology comprises the study of cellular and tissue.

Who are Pathologist?

A pathologist is a physician who examines the tissues and checks the accuracy of lab tests. Pathologist plays a very important role in the health care of a patient. In a pathology, various laboratory tests are conducted on the samples of a patient that facilitate the patient’s diagnosis and treatment.

If you want to become a pathologist and looking for the courses then you are at right place. Below, we have listed some most sought pathology courses.

Also Check: Popular Medical Courses

What Did Pathologists Do?

Some of the activities given below which are performed by the pathologists:

• Pathologists make diagnoses using a microscope
• Pathologists do indulge in trying to find out what diseases are affecting living patients.
• They do testing and the amount of quality control involved in a diagnosis.
• They use laboratory tests to monitor the health of patients with chronic conditions.

Scope

The role of Pathologists in medical chain is diverse so, there are many job designations for them. You can choose pathology to specialize in a particular branch of histopathology and cytopathology and further join an organization which deals mostly with that specialty.

Pathalogists have opportunity for career growth & lucrative pay scale are immense, Dynamics career paths & daily objectives.

Pathologists generally function in three broad areas- classified as diagnosticians in hospitals; investigators or researchers in medical laboratories and as teachers in colleges and universities.

If you choose to go the clinical pathology, you may need to work for private or corporate institutions.  Aspirants can also join top hospitals like AIIMS (All India institute of Medical Sciences) and in military and government agencies like the National Institute of Health, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and Food and Drug Administration.

From a financial point of view, new pathologists may be recruited for an average salary depending on the organization, working hours and job description. You may have to get some additional experience before getting appointed as a consultant anywhere.

Courses & Duration

In India, there are many medical institutions/University that provides education in the field of pathology. Several courses staring from certificate level to master level are offered in this field. You can pursue following courses in pathology:

Certificate Courses – 1 year

• PDCC (Blood Banking & Immunohaematology)
• PDCC (Blood Component Therapy & Apheresis)
• PDCC (Hepatopathology)
• PDCC (Renal Pathology)
• Post MD Certificate course in Cytopathology
• Post MD Certificate course in Immunopathology

Diploma Courses:

• Diploma in Pathology – 2 years
• Diploma in Clinical Pathology – 2 years
• Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Pathology – 2 years
• Post Graduate Diploma in Human Genetics and Pathological Techniques (PGDHGPT) – 15 months

Bachelor Courses:

• Bachelor of Audiology Speech and Language Pathology – 4 years

Master Courses:

• Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Pathology – 2 years
• Master of Dental Surgery in Oral Pathology – 3 years
• Doctor of Medicine in Pathology – 3 years

Doctoral Courses:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Pathology – 3 years
• Doctor of Philosophy in Speech Pathology and Audiology – 3 years

Specializations:

• Chemical Pathology
• Neuropathology
• Forensic Pathology
• Surgical Pathology
• Medical Microbiology
• Blood Banking / Transfusion Medicine
• Hematology
• Cytopathology
• Dermatopathology
• Paediatric Pathology
• Veterinary Pathology
• Blood Banking / Transfusion Medicine
• Plant Pathology

Eligibility Required:

For UG Courses: Minimum educational qualification of 10+2 passed with PCB group is required for admission to undergraduate courses.

For PG Courses: You will be eligible for PG courses after passing bachelor’s degree in related discipline. Admission to Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme will be offered after the successful completion of MBBS course.

Admission Process

Some colleges offer admission on the basis of marks in the qualifying examination or some of them provides admission through the entrance test. Admission in MBBS course will be done through NEET 2024. Many universities/institutions regulates their own entrance test for providing admission. Some of the postgraduate level medical entrance test are JIPMER PG 2024, AIIMS PG 2024, etc.

Also Check:

• NEET PG 2024
• INI CET 2024
• INI SS 2024
• AIIMS 2024
• JIPMER 2024

Jobs & Career Scope

Every day a lot of clinical, genetic, and microbiological tests is recommended by the doctors to patient in order to find the actual disease from which patient is suffering. This will broaden the scope for pathologist.

Pathologists can work as a diagnosticians in hospitals, investigators or researchers in medical laboratories and as teachers in colleges and Universities.

Various government and private hospitals offers job to pathologists. Reputed hospitals like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) avails position for pathologists. Vacancies are also available in National Institute of Health, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, and Food and Drug Administration.

For pathologists it is a good option to open his/her own pathology lab.

Pathologists can find employment within agriculture, public health, law enforcement, and in many other fields.  You can avail jobs in Drug manufacturing, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies also. The another option for Pathologists is to start their own diagnostic laboratories or become consultants to private industry.

UPSC conducts Combined Medical Services examination and provincial civil service examination for facilitating jobs in defense services like army and naval forces. Pathologists can appear the aforementioned examination for getting employment in defense services.

Job types for pathologists:

• Medical Examiner
• Consultants
• Cytotechnologist
• Dermatopathologist
• Forensic Technician
• Professors
• Mortuary Assistant
• Medical Lab Technician

Salary

Starting salary of a pathologists ranges from Rs.15,000 to Rs.25,000. After gaining experience, there is rise in salary and it will be Rs 60,000 per month in the private sector.

In United States, pathologists earns an excellent salary. Their average salary is around $191,000 per month.

Books & Study Materials

Candidates opting pathology courses can refer these books for preparation:

• Textbook of Pathology by Harsh Mohan
• Rubin’s Pathology by David S. Strayer
• Textbook of Oral Pathology by Anil Govindrao Ghom, Shubhangi Mhaske
• Rosai and Ackerman’s Surgical Pathology Review by Ivan Damjanov, Marin Nola
• Robbins and Cotran’s Pathologic Basis of Disease by Kumar, Abbas, Fausto

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