OCTOBER 20238In My OpinionEmily E. Volk, MD, MBA, FCAP President, College of American Pathologists Vice President, Pathology and Clinical Laboratories, University of Louisville HealthByPathology is one of the best kept secrets in the house of medicine. With medical school programs pivoting from a traditional-based to a systems-based curriculum, first- and second-year medical students are less likely to know that pathologists are even physicians.Phrases like "let's send it to the lab" minimizes the physicians behind clinical laboratory tests, biopsies, and cancer diagnoses. Pathologists support each clinical laboratory result, blood product released for surgical procedures, and more.Being a well-kept secret might have contributed to a decline of U.S. medical school graduates matching into pathology residency programs and the current pathology workforce shortage. While the COVID-19 pandemic brought the importance of pathology services and clinical laboratories diagnostic work to the forefront, it also exacerbated the staffing shortage, and employee burnout among pathologists, medical technologists and technicians, phlebotomists, histotechnologists and histotechnicians.The Association of American Medical Colleges reported anatomic/clinical pathology as one of the five largest specialties that saw the MOST decline in physicians between 2016 and 2021, and approximately 70 percent of pathologists are age 55 or older. This data supports the 2022 College of American Pathologists (CAP) survey of more than 1,000 pathologists where:· 65% of practice leaders said it was more difficult to hire pathologists than in prior years.· 25% of practice leaders cited visa issues as having prevented their practice from either considering or hiring for an open position.· The most commonly reason cited was not being able to find candidates who met their needs.When more than 1 in 6 Americans are age 65 or older (Searing, 2023), the medical and public health laboratory workforce shortage makes it more difficult to care for an increasing number of patients. This also slows down clinical laboratory results and diagnoses turnaround times, further burdening the existing workforce.The specialty of pathology needs reinforcement: the next generation of laboratory professionals to help take care of all our patients.INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE: THE PATHOLOGIST PIPELINE INITIATIVEEmily E. Volk
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