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Yep, this is all based off of Robbins

It's definitely a lot to absorb as a high school grad and there's a lot of knowledge to pick up along the way. But if you stick with it and make it through undergrad and a masters you will be ready by the time you start working. I remember thinking to myself this is a lot of stuff to learn but you get better at it as you move through school. Good luck in community college!

The OT is quite variable and it seems somewhat dependent on the time of year. In the past, most OT has been offered in the winter/early spring, there isn't much offered during the summer and then later in fall/early winter it picks up again. Summer is usually when we're slowest in the lab so there's more ability to catch up on work without needing to rely on OT. I've picked up around 60-100 hours of OT per year over the last 3 years if that's any help

@@canadianpathassistant9066 Thank you this is very helpful!

What do you think is appealing about a pathologist assistant career over a physician assistant? And what do you want from your career ultimately? I can’t speak a lot to physician assistant work but you do not have patient contact working in path. The work is also more centered around pathology whereas a physician assistant from what I understand has a lot more breadth in their scope of practice

I'm not sure why it isn't mentioned. The website can be difficult to navigate at times and it might be tucked away somewhere that isn't an intuitive place to look. If you have specific questions about the application process I encourage you to reach out to the program directly, either through email or the phone and they should be able to help.

Thanks for watching! Biology is definitely useful if you have any desire to pursue further education in healthcare as there are university level biology courses required for most if not all degrees that take your further down the path of healthcare. There may be some careers that don't require you to take biology but even if you take it and don't end up needing it I think it's better to have just in case.

To pursue a PA degree then yes I would recommend a science based degree. Many of the courses or course options are often things like biology, anatomy chemistry often with the option to take more advanced courses in immunology or histology which can be helpful. If you have a lot of options available with your degree I would focus on courses listed as prerequisites on many of the PA program’s websites.

Yep. You can reach me at canadianpathassistant@gmail.com

You will have to go to any PA program's website and see the application requirements for that school's program. Generally the requirements are similar between programs but there are differences here and there. Submit your application to the schools you are interested in/qualified for. A list of currently accredited PA programs can be found at www.naacls.org/Find-a-Program.aspx

Glad to hear you're still loving it after 30 years!

Being able to work weekends for OT cash is a great option and one I would take advantage of when you can if you need the extra cash. That said, the lab you work for/your employer may not have regular OT available or it could also depend on whether or not you're paid in a salaried or hourly position. I'm paid hourly but there certainly is not enough extra work for me to regularly get weekend OT (I've worked somewhere between 80-100 hrs of OT each of the past two years). It varies a fair bit from lab to lab and would be something to ask about when you're looking for a job if you need to make above your base pay.

Yes there is a big difference between training to become a PA and training to be an autopsy tech. Training to become a PA is predominantly focussed on learning how to handle and gross surgical specimens. This is laboratory work done at a lab bench. A portion of the overall PA training process is directed towards autopsy (both medical autopsy/hospital based cases and those handled by a medical examiners office/forensic cases) however this is a minority portion, about 10-15% of your clinical training, and it is not in a PA's scope of practice to give a final cause of death. That is the responsibility of a pathologist. The vast majority of PA job postings are for grossing (in fact I've never seen a PA job posting that was only for autopsy). Training to become an autopsy tech is often offered as on the job training for individuals working at a medical examiners office. PAs are qualified to fill the role of an autopsy tech however they typically don't. School to become a PA is ~2 years and is fairly expensive. Salaries are reflective of this with autopsy techs typically making much less than a PA.

Glad it helped!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Are you wondering me personally or PAs in general? For PAs in general it depends on where you work. A lot of PAs aren't involved in autopsy because the hospital/lab they work at doesn't do them, even though they are trained to do so. I would estimate ~75% of PA jobs are grossing only and are not involved in autopsy. Personally, every 6-8 weeks I'm scheduled in our morgue for a week at a time and I am involved in every autopsy case that occurs over that week (these are only the autopsy cases that occur at the hospital and does not include medical examiner cases which are done elsewhere).

No, they are paid much less overall.

I think you’re right, blatantly describing what a PA does and leaving it at that is probably not sufficient and I would include only a word or two about shadowing if for no other reason to indicate that you’ve done it. I think a better way to approach the letter is to explain in your words the roles and duties of what working does PA day to day but then also explain how any of your interests, experiences or specific skills make you well-suited to the job. So for example saying something like while shadowing at x hospital/lab and through my own research into the job, I’ve seen that the major role of a PA is to handle and examine surgical specimens while for looking macroscopic evidence of pathology, utilizing medical records to assist them when required. This examination can evaluate the impact of current treatment, has staging and treatment implications for neoplastic specimens, can determine whether complete surgical excision of relevant pathology has been successful and also helps in the recognition of inflamed, infected or dying tissue. During examination a PA will compile a report of their findings using voice dictation, sometimes assisted with photographs, and will submit relevant pieces of tissue for further histological evaluation. Using this report and the slides generated from the tissue a PA has submitted, a pathologist will be able to render a final diagnosis. Because of my previous training and knowledge in [pick relevant education if applicable] anatomy and physiology and through coursework and cadaver labs during my [insert if relevant] degree, I already have a practiced familiarity with normal tissue anatomy and thus will be well suited to recognizing abnormal tissue. Additionally, my summer job working independently in a research lab which focused on _____ exposed me to the lab and healthcare environment and my further work in EMS exposed me to acute patient care. While I enjoyed both experiences, the lab work was limited to samples which did not have direct or immediate patient impact and because I felt I was not able to fully utilize my anatomy and medical knowledge working in EMS, I decided to pursue my desire to combine these through the completion of a PA program. These are all aspects of the PA education and career I feel are well suited to my interests and skills. I would use relevant examples from your own life and tailor what you’ve learned to aspects of the PA job to which you think you’re well suited to and how they might align/be a natural transition from your previous experiences (in the above I used some examples from my own education and work history, yours would obviously be different). I think this will give you the best blend of demonstrating you know what a PA does while also help you stand out by being unique and tailoring your application and statement to you.

Yes international students can apply to PA programs. If applying from a non native English speaking country you may have to complete an English language proficiency test as part of your application. Also tuition fees are typically higher for international students.

If she has current ASCP certification I don't see a need for her to undergo additional testing for work unless the job she applies for requires a different certification. I don't know the specifics of MLS certification requirements in BC but the employer(s) she's considering working for might have specific requirements and could give her more information about those requirements directly. Good luck!

@@canadianpathassistant9066 thank you

Not all PA programs have math as a prerequisite course so it might not be necessary depending on where you apply.

Certification specifics for Canada can be found here www.cap-acp.org/application_Guide.php. There are a couple options for certifying as an on the job trained PA which will expire at the end of 2024. Without graduating from a NAACLS accredited school, you will be unable to apply for ASCP certification.

If you graduated from a pathologist assistant program you would most certainly be able to find a job. PAs are in demand in both Canada and the US and while you might have to move after school to accept a position you would be able to land a job. What other career would a MSc in Pathology/Laboratory medicine be setting you up for? If you are interested in research more than doing consistent hands-on work, a PA program is not the correct path for you. Applicants that reflect an interest in doing predominantly research oriented work, are generally not accepted into programs as readily - there is nothing wrong with doing research but this career isn't suited towards it. PA training is better suited if you are interested in a more practical, hands on style of job. If your application doesn't reflect a strong understanding of what a PA is or even what the day to day looks like and how you would be a good fit for that style of training/workplace, your application is unlikely to stand out. Beyond that I can't say there is one specific thing that makes applications stand out simply because people come from diverse backgrounds and have a wide range of experiences. However things in general that successful applicants have are a strong understanding of what a PA is (as I said above), competitive GPA (this differs based on the program you apply to but generally a 3.3/4.0 GPA or higher), some shadowing or first hand experience (not required but most successful applicants have at least some of this), some work or life experience they can relate to why they would be a good fit for a PA program and how their specific skillset would make them successful as a PA. I'm also assuming you would have at least 2 strong references for your application. Also any background of previous classes taken in anatomy, physiology, histology, would be an asset as a lot of the day to day work involves handling and dissecting fresh and formalin fixed surgical specimens as well as doing autopsy. Hope that helps!

What state?

International students have as good a chance at being accepted as other qualified Canadian applicants, provided you meet the admission requirements listed on the program's website. Spots are not reserved specifically for international students though so you'd be competing with all the other people in that application cycle if you were to apply.

Noted, thank you

Thanks, if I do another one of these as an update I'll be sure to include some more visuals to make things more clear

If you are solely interested in autopsies, working as an autopsy tech at an ME's office would allow you to assist in autopsies and many of these positions are on the job trained instead of requiring formal education. In fact I think it's overkill to go through PA school if all you want to do is autopsy. If you still like the idea of grossing but don't care about autopsy, there are some grossing tech positions which are similar to being a PA and would require something like MLT (medical lab tech) training. This is still around the same amount of time spent training however and I'm not sure about the cost of these programs. And in these grossing positions you wouldn't be dealing with complex specimens and would be more limited in your scope of practice. Outside of those, there aren't many other positions similar to being a pathologist assistant. When you ask about having to do the full 6 years do you mean do a whole other bachelors before applying to a PA program? Most programs require at minimum a science based bachelors degree. Some programs will have specific prerequisite courses they want to see from their applicants. Depending on what courses you've taken you'd be limited on which schools you could apply to but I don't think it's necessary to take a whole other degree before applying to a PA program.

@@canadianpathassistant9066 wow thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. This clears everything up 👍🏻

Thank you!

You will have to look at individual programs in Canada and the US (depending on where you want to apply) to determine if your masters will qualify you to apply. Some PA programs require certain prerequisite classes like anatomy or math, while others are only looking at a minimum GPA and a science based background.

Glad it was helpful!

If PA work in general interests you then ya I think you could apply to a program. I’m not sure of all the courses you had to take in your bachelor degree but it sounds like there would be some overlap which would help with training.

;)

This is slightly outside my area of expertise for MLTs and you would have to check with individual job postings to be sure but from what I've seen listed under qualifications for job postings in Canada, ASCP certification is not mentioned. However membership with the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of [province of employment] is typically required.

From first learning about this job I took about 2 years before I applied for school. I spent that time working in remote areas and was able to save up a bunch of money because most of the time I was stationed in work camps or employee housing, had no vehicle payment and paid off any leftover debts from undergrad. I had always considered going back to school but I wasn't sure what exactly to do before finding career. I just knew I couldn't stay in the job I had been working and would need to change something either way, even if this wasn't ultimately it. I ended up having to get student loans but not as much as I would have had to if I didn't save beforehand. It was still lean times and I was able to stay with my parents while in school so that significantly reduced my expenses. I would not select a program based only on the prestige of the school. Once you're done employers don't really care where you trained (provided it's from an accredited school) so if you can find a program that is significantly cheaper than another, I would focus on applying to that one. And depending on where you get a job afterwards, the income can definitely be quite good so that can help offset some of the concern about loans but I would still be hesitant to take on that much so I get it. I had a classmate that worked throughout both years of school to pay for it along with using some of her savings. Most schools don't recommend doing that but it's doable so that could potentially help.

@@canadianpathassistant9066 I appreciate your response! Luckily, I live 15 mins from Eastern Virginia Medical School which offers this program and is affordable. It’s the cost of living loans that are the kicker! Thanks again 👍🏼

This is based on my experience in Canada but yes typically with more time working you will earn more days off, especially if you work in a union position as you get additional time off after completing x many years of work. I cant' speak for all PAs but I'm in a union position, have been working for 5 years and I get 20 vacation days, 3 personals days and 1 float day. So that's 24 days I can book off. In addition to that I get all stat holidays off or a day in lieu if the stat is on a weekend (12 additional days throughout the year). In my first year I had 15 vacation days, between years 2-9 I get 20 vacation days and between 10-19 years I get an extra 5 vacation days for a total of 25. The personal and float days don't change based on seniority. Vacation/stat holidays etc might be different if you work for a private employer or somewhere in the US. No I wouldn't expect bonuses (unless maybe from some private labs in the US) however some employers will offer signing bonuses.

Thanks for watching!

I would definitely say that in your second year you can start looking for jobs 5-6 months out. Previous students I've known had job interviews in February for a program completion date at the end of June. Several of them had received multiple offers from different employers before the spring and had accepted a position. It’s unusual to not have a job offer by the time you graduate (if you’ve been applying) and often employers will contact programs directly asking the program to pass on a job posting to their current students. If the employer is desperate enough to fill a position they may also offer some kind of relocation/signing bonus - I’ve seen this from an employer in Saskatchewan. One of the biggest factors affecting whether or not you get a job before finishing school is if you're looking to work in a specific location. PA jobs do exist across Canada, although there might not be open postings in the specific city you’d like to work in. In that case I would take a job to start getting experience, even if not in your ideal location, with an eye to apply to any positions that open up in your ideal location with the added working experience you’ve gained from your first job. Most employers are looking for certification or certification eligibility (ie CCCPA predominantly, some Canadian positions will also accept or consider ASCP; American positions only care about ASCP); familiarity with voice dictation software and familiarity with a LIS (lab information system like Millennium or Epic) which are standard things you’ll get through training. Those are the most common technical requirements. If they state they want something like 3-5 years experience up front I would not let that dissuade you from applying. I’ve seen emails from employers who’ve said this is their standard phrasing for their job postings and they don’t actually care how much experience you have because they’re so desperate to get people. Other than that you might get questioned on what kinds of specimens you have experience with grossing/what you’re comfortable with but if you’ve graduated from an accredited institution and are certification eligible they know you’re at least competent and can probably hit the ground running with minimal guidance. I was never asked to give specific examples of the number of cases I grossed and I didn’t keep a portfolio during school of all the cases I worked on. I might have recorded some specialty cases but that’s it. You could keep one and it’s not a bad thing to do as it might score you some brownie points but it’s not required. I’ve also talked to several other PAs and none of them have run into employers that were looking to see a grossing portfolio or examples of previous cases they had grossed. More important, in my opinion, is personality and teachability - it’s much easier to teach technical skills than change someone who is difficult to work with. Unionized employers will be less open to negotiating things like your salary, unless you’re coming to the table with work experience (of more than a year) because the salary steps are very structured and based almost exclusively on time spent working/experience. Negotiating that is not really something the employer has a lot of say in (again unless you have documented previous experience). As a student fresh out of a program you’re pretty much coming in at the bottom of the pay grid and will have to work your way up over several years. Non unionized employers are more likely amenable to negotiating at least a couple $/hr up off the bottom of their salary offer. They will probably offer low (not unfairly low, just at the bottom of their pay scale, especially if you’re new) and if they scoop you up at the bottom it’s a win for them even if they could afford to start you a bit higher. For those employers, if you come to the table with at least one other offer and have done some local research on the current rates being offered you will a) appear to be in greater demand and b) have a leg to stand on if you are able to say something like “thanks for your offer, I appreciate the consideration. However I’m also considering accepting a position from x hospital which is offering me [higher starting amount]. I’d really like the opportunity to work here with you but I have to make sure it also makes sense for me/me and my family. Would you be open to matching this rate?” Just don’t lie about this if you haven’t received another offer elsewhere. I think something like that is very reasonable and respectful to both sides. Also there may be other components to your total compensation that one employer may offer over another, which could add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars a year, that might not be reflected solely in the opening offer (eg the amount of RSP matching offered, a health spending account, paid time off, extra time off etc). Conversely, coming in and saying I want $50/hr or else I walk is probably hitting the wrong tone.

@@canadianpathassistant9066 Wow, thank you for such a thorough response! Sounds like I don't need to worry too much about a grossing portfolio but should my training during practicum be quantified in any way? As in, should I give a rough estimate of my hours of experience/training on my CV/resume or as you stated, is it enough that I will have graduated from an accredited program? Thanks again, I'll definitely keep your advice in mind once I start job hunting :)

If you have a rough idea of how many specimens you’ve grossed that’s probably a good landmark to know if asked (e.g. I've done 15-20 neoplastic gyne, breast and GI cases each over the course of practicum etc) as well as what subspecialty case types you have the most and least comfort with but I haven’t run into anyone who has needed specific grossing numbers for their interviews. As far as a rough estimate of hours/training if you were looking to include it on your CV, you could say your training included a year of full time clinical rotations at sites that focussed on [subspecialty 1, subspecialty 2 etc]. If they want more detail than that they can ask you to explain during an interview. Having graduated from an accredited program goes a long way! Instead of asking about your number of hours of experience, a better question you might get asked is to tell us about the most challenging specimen you’ve worked on, what made it challenging and what you did to ensure a high standard of care was maintained for the patient. Good luck for when you start job hunting!

I'm glad to hear your niece is doing so well and at her age too! A lot of people get interested in this degree just for autopsy and they aren't looking to work in a hospital - they are the audience I don't think should be pursuing this degree.

No your second year of clinical training is not paid. So you still have school tuition to pay plus housing/travel expenses if you have to go out of town for training.

@@canadianpathassistant9066 Thank you very much!

Happy to hear it!

Glad it has been helpful!

I'm not sure if that would qualify as a science degree or not for the purposes of admission. For a definitive answer I would contact programs you are considering and ask them directly what their stance is on that degree. Also individual programs may have different opinions on it so I would ask more than one if you think you might apply to more than one program.