What Does A Pathologist Do?

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.

Pathologists are usually consulted by Physicians; they do not often interact with the patient but will be asked to study things like biopsies and blood samples. A pathologist will often help diagnose the disease and recommend treatments for a patient. Although they may not meet the patient, a pathologist will play an important role in the treatment of a patient, sometimes more so than the doctor.

When a person dies, the autopsy is performed by a forensic pathologist to establish their cause of death, this is sometimes considered more difficult than working with a live patient but the results are not needed so urgently.

The pathological line of work has a large amount of variations such as a research pathologist who studies general issues affecting health and disease. Veterinary pathologists focus in animal disease while botanical pathologists investigate disease in plants. Some specialize in the pathology of a particular aspect of a human such as speech pathologists so the diversity of career choices draws from a wide range of skills.

The education involved in becoming a pathologist is extensive, not only do they need to have a great knowledge of medical subjects and be familiar with a wide range of conditions, they must be able to use a wide range of scientific equipment. Most countries require pathologists to be certified doctors before undertaking a residency in pathology.

If you need a job in healthcare, then visit Nuffield Health for a list of Pathology Jobs in your region.

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