With advancing healthcare, lab tests are increasingly becoming necessary for the smallest of diagnoses. Reena Jhaveri looks at what it takes to make a career in pathology
Well, there’s nothing a medical test will not diagnose. And those hidden people behind labs and masks are the ones to thank for that! The healthcare sector is advancing rapidly and so is the branch of medical science that deals with the analysis of diseases through inspection of organs, bodily fluids and tissues – pathology. If you are interested in medical research, this could be your field.
The fast-paced lives that people lead today, trigger a host of medical conditions, and with health and well-being noted as one of the top priorities of the working personnel today, the allied industry is bound to do well. Take a walk in your neighbourhood or area. You will find at least two or three pathology test labs, if not more. With a mere sample of your blood or urine, thousands of tests can be conducted, and as many problems can be detected early on for preventive healthcare.
The healthcare and medical industry in India is growing rapidly and along with it is growing the arm which uses pathogens to diagnose conditions and diseases. Factors like rising expendable incomes, with changing attitudes towards health and nutrition, in addition to an acute increase in lifestyle related problems such as hypertension, diabetes, and other cardio-vascular conditions is providing further impetus to this industry. India has emerged as a global R&D hub for the pharmaceutical industry, and, as a result, is a strong market for clinical trials and central lab services. There is also a shift in focus from the treatment of illness to wellness and prevention, and an emerging opportunity in women’s health services as well.
The way to become a professional in the pathology industry is pretty straightforward. To opt for a course related to the field, a student needs to choose the science stream after class 10 (SSC or equivalent). The student also needs to have taken up the subject combination of physics, chemistry and biology. Courses in the field of pathology are being offered by a number of medical colleges and universities in Mumbai. Most of them generally conduct courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate degree levels.
The admission to the undergraduate courses is based on the marks secured in the class 12 (HSC or equivalent) from a recognised board. Those who want to opt for a postgraduate programme, need to have completed the undergraduate degree in a related field.
After finishing their course at any recognized medical college in India, aspirants can works as specialists in any branch of pathology, depending on their ability and liking. The institutes in Mumbai include:
Nishita Mehta / FYJC science student
I know that I do not have the capacity to score the marks needed to get into medical school, but I would like to get into a related profession. My parents are pushing me towards pathology since they think they will be able to shell out the investment for a small lab after I finish studying, but I am not sure that I can handle all the bodily fluids and excrements that come in for testing. Please advise.
Professional Barkha Sharma answers: Well, first, you need to talk to professionals in the field of pathology to find out how they handle the samples and whether the ‘yuck’ factor matters when you work with these samples every day. You must realise that every profession related to medicine will involve hard work, especially during the course. You parents might be right that it may be easier to get into this course than medicine, but it is still very competitive.
Opening a lab right out of college is not such a great idea, since you will have little experience in handling things. I suggest that if you do choose this field of study, you work for a few years under someone, get some training and then think of branching out on your own. Other than that, there are other paramedical professions like physiotherapy and speech therapy that you can think about.
Neera Chandavarkar / Pursuing her course
This field is unique, and when you are out with friends, you will not be talking about the stock market! Well at least not as table talk. It is a field that needs tremendous dedication, and an inquisitive nature, at the very least. You will be doing a mundane job at the beginning, but the curiosity might lead you to new diagnoses and results, which might help you to advance in your field.
The study programme lays a lot of emphasis on research and reading, so please be ready for that. In the first year, students learn about anatomy, cell biology and chemistry, among other things. The worst part, some pathologists say, is that patients are mere names to them, and sometimes, they want to be there when the patient is delivered a nasty result, to counsel the patients, just out of mere feeling, but they can’t. Professionalism dictates otherwise, and anyway, there is no mechanism provided in the medical system for a pathologist to personally know a patient.
Often, doctors might consult with pathologists on certain difficult tests, but most often, it is a thankless job, since the satisfaction of delivering happy results cannot be seen. As a pathologist puts it, “You derive your own human satisfaction by looking at a test that negative for major ailments.”
Barkha Sharma / Pathologist
It is after all a job which is thankless, and yet, we make decision relating to life and death on a daily basis. This is done without even meeting the patient. Pathologists usually determine the problems with a person based on what flows into his or her blood stream. Multiple minute diagnoses are needed to arrive at an accurate decision, since a small difference in a reading could mean something entirely different.
In that sense, the person behind the microscope needs to be extremely responsible and has to have an eye for detail. This is not a job for either the shoddy ones or the faint hearted ones. After all, it is you who has to look into the minute particles and also determine what the problems ailing a patient are. You must also be up to date with your knowledge of the field, since research is advancing at a very fast pace. With new breakthroughs in health care coming in quite rapidly, a pathologist who fails to keep up with the field and the knowledge of the periodicals and journals is not going to reach anywhere.
I would advise a young person to start small, which will provide a wide range of tasks that you can carry out, and learn from. After that, you can choose to specialise in any aspect you like.
While it is necessary to have knowledge for anything you do, talent and precision is also necessary. The common people have started to realise the need for special knowledge needed in such diagnoses and are frequenting those labs which they trust, mainly due to the trust placed in the personnel’s expertise. In fact, this writer knows several people who opt for a particular technician in a particular lab because the person is soft and smooth with his or her work, especially drawing blood or administering intravenous drugs. Secondly accuracy also matters.
Keeping this in mind, you can look for employment at a pathological lab – there are all kinds of labs, small and big. There are those with multinational names and those attached to major hospitals. Also, you could work for an in-house technician for a hospital. Medical research is also an option. Research has provided scope for the development of a lot more in the field. For all pathologists better patient care is the ultimate goal. A new area in which expertise will help is pathological management – there are diploma programmes available, do you do not have to learn the hard way. What’s more, the field allows for part-time work, though climbing the ladder will be that much more difficult, but you can keep your hours.
The salaries offered according to a forecast report published by ASSOCHAM reveals that the industry is projected to grow 23% per annum. The jobs advertised are for those who have completed a programme in pathology or laboratory medicine. For fresh graduates, the salaries range from Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 3.5 lakh pa at the very basic. After a couple of years of experience, the figures go up.
