What is a Pathologists' Assistant?
A Pathologists’ Assistant is a highly trained allied health professional who provides various pathology services under the direction and supervision of a pathologist. These professionals are academically and practically trained to aid the pathologist in many ways to provide accurate and timely processing of a variety of laboratory specimens. Pathologists’ Assistants provide the majority of pathological specimen processing up to making a diagnosis for a patient. They are key components to helping make a clinical diagnosis, but there is a distinct line where a Pathologists’ Assistant duty ends, and where a pathologist’s review to diagnose a case begins. Pathologists' Assistants interact with pathologists in a similar manner to physician assistants in surgical and medical practice, carrying out their duties under the direction of their physicians.
The Pathologists’ Assistant profession has been around for over 35 years, starting with a small pilot training program at Duke University in North Carolina. The training for this profession has expanded to include 8 NAACLS approved training programs in the U.S., with other programs in development in the U.S. and Canada. A large majority of Pathologists’ Assistants are graduates of Baccalaureate and Master Degree programs, and some are on-the-job trained professionals as well. Many of these professionals are former histotechnologists, medical technologists, and autopsy personnel. The introduction of national certification by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) in 2004 has been a further step in ensuring that the Pathologists’ Assistants in practice today are of the highest caliber.
The majority of the workload that most Pathologists’ Assistants are responsible for is the gross examination and dissection of anatomic pathology specimens and the performance of postmortem examinations. They prepare tissue for numerous pathological tests including frozen section diagnosis, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemical staining. They may photograph gross and microscopic specimens, help prepare educational conferences, and provide training to pathology residents. The duties of a Pathologists’ Assistant are not always limited to anatomic and surgical pathology. Many also have a variety of tasks including administrative, supervisory, and teaching duties.
Pathologists’ Assistants are present in a wide scope of clinical practices. Although the majority of Pathologists’ Assistants work in academic and community hospitals, they can also be employed in other areas such as private pathology laboratories, the medical examiner system, reference laboratories, government healthcare systems, and medical teaching facilities. Some are even self-employed business owners providing their pathology expertise to cover per-diem work, or contract for as needed autopsy service. They are crucial extension of a pathologist to the rest of their healthcare setting, working as a liaison to other departments and laboratories to ensure quality health care.
With the increased pressures on healthcare systems to control costs, Pathologists' Assistants contribute to the overall efficiency of the laboratory or pathology practice in a cost effective manner. The demand for qualified Pathologists’ Assistants is growing every year, making the outlook for a career as a Pathologists’ Assistant to be very opportunistic.
Special thanks to Barbara Dufour, PA(ASCP), winner of the "What is a PA?" contest, for providing the content of this page. 
