Recruitment, staffing, workforce shortage – these were all frequently repeated terms in response to The Pathologist’s recent poll to establish the biggest challenges facing pathology.
Tiffany Telemaque commented, “Like many others, my discovery of the field was largely by chance, a common experience among professionals in the field. This pattern must change. Laboratory science and pathology should be promoted as viable career paths starting from elementary education.”
It is heartening to hear, therefore, that some medical students are going ahead and changing that pattern themselves. Such is their commitment to pathology as a specialty, they are intent on pursuing their own knowledge-building and spreading the word to other potential candidates.
One such advocate is Lauren Larson, a fourth-year medical student at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, who has been instrumental in setting up and driving a student interest group for pathology. What the group has achieved in just its first year is truly inspirational, as Larson explains…
Credit: Lauren Larson
What first sparked your interest in pathology?
I have been interested in the field of pathology since I first came across it in high school while competing in the Michigan Health Occupations Students of America annual competition. My event was exploring and assembling a career portfolio surrounding a field of medicine of my choice. My career center instructor had mentioned pathology to me, and I used this event to delve deeper into the field.
Two pathologists at Detroit Medical Center helped me with my project: Dongping Shi gave me an in-depth shadowing opportunity, including grossing instruction, and Sudeshna Bandyopadhyay agreed to an interview to explain the day-to-day life of a pathologist. I used the knowledge gained from my time with them to create the required procedural skill video, in which I “grossed” a lamb’s heart. Finally, I created a career portfolio similar to one that a medical student or resident/fellow would use to apply for employment in pathology. I placed first regionally and fifth in the State but – most importantly – I fell in love with the field of pathology and have pursued it ever since!
What opportunities did you find to pursue that interest in medical school?
In my undergraduate courses and medical school, I advocated strongly for the field of pathology and continued shadowing pathologists of various sub-specialties, volunteering in medical examiner offices, and participating in pathology-based clinical research. I kept searching for a pathology student interest group but could not find one at our school – even being told that multiple attempts to begin one had failed due to a lack of consistent interest. Within my own class, I attempted to gauge interest in starting up a group, but only three or four students came forward.
Fast forward to the end of my third year of medical school, when some final year students approached me about joining a newly founded Pathology Student Interest Group. I quickly applied for a board position, as leadership transitions were already beginning, and was appointed Co-President. I was absolutely ecstatic. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for – a position that would grant me the ability to spread resources and passion for pathology amongst my colleagues and beyond.
The founding members had been able to complete most of the administrative requirements to establish the group as an official student organization with funding. However, with only a few months before they had to depart for residency, they were not able to hold many events or meetings. Despite this, they set the groundwork for me and the new board to build this group into one with enough momentum to continue for years and a reputation to stand proudly alongside the other more established student organizations.
What impact has the Pathology Student Interest Group had so far?
Within our own school, we collaborated with faculty to enhance the pathology curriculum, hosted resident panels, and created a comprehensive online collection of pathology resources and a guidebook for our students. We also established a pathology research collective, and hold regular educational meetings for our group of more than 30 path-interested students.
We established a social media presence and, within our first few months, attended our first school organization fair – equipped with a custom banner, stickers, and a microscope with slide set. We attended the Michigan Society of Pathologists 2024 Spring Conference as a student board… the list goes on.
Looking to the future, we plan on attending CAP24 as a group, continuing to develop extensive resources for students, and arranging meetings with leading experts in the field as well as residency program heads near ERAS seasons. We will also continue to engage in educational outreach to medical, undergraduate, and even high school students.
To what extent has this board experience assisted your transition to pathology residency?
My experience as co-president of our organization has done much to prepare me for a future in pathology residency. Not only have I practiced my leadership skills, I’ve had an excellent opportunity to hone my teaching skills while educating our first- and second-year medical students about the field. These teaching skills will carry over into residency as there is great interest in increasing pathology awareness and education in the medical field and in the general public. Of course, the ability to impart knowledge will also be imperative as I share my findings with my pathology co-residents while working through our cases!
What are your future plans for pathology advocacy?
I will absolutely keep tabs with the new board of our organization as I transition into residency – both to help them continue to expand the group and to impart my new experiences from residency to the students. As a resident, I hope to continue my advocacy for this vastly underrepresented field of medicine by applying for leadership positions in USCAP, ASCP, and CAP, as well as mentoring any path-interested students I meet along the way. My ultimate goal is to do more than just spark the flame of pathology in students, but to continue to fuel it to create a robust cohort of pathologist leaders and educators capable of helping elevate the field's notoriety in the grand scheme of medicine.
Credit: Lauren Larson
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