Talent Drive: Part 2

Doryan Redding: I believe the journey toward attracting more scientists starts with meeting people where they are. There is untapped potential for recruiting students from career fairs when they are young or making the field more accessible through literature and pop culture. Increasing visibility is crucial for recognizing the profession and fostering a sense of familiarity with it. Even having more characters on TV shows who are medical laboratory scientists would help people relate to the field. Many people know what labs are but have never been given the opportunity to think twice about them. 

Too often, when I tell people I’m a medical laboratory scientist, they stare at me wide-eyed, as if they've never heard those three words put together.  My elevator pitch when I tell people what I do is: "You know when you go to the doctor for a physical and they say, 'We’re going to draw some blood' or 'You’ll pee in a cup and we’ll send it to the lab? Well, that's me. I’m the lab. We extract so much diagnostic information from those samples that, without us providing that information to your healthcare providers, they wouldn’t know where to start."

Not only that, but we as current professionals need to be better at self-promotion too. If we were more vocal by telling those around us details about who we are and what we do, it could help spread the word. When people think of health professions, most people can name at least one nurse that they know. How great would it be if people had that same recognition of medical laboratory scientists? Making information about this profession more accessible and increasing visibility will make a huge difference! People often choose a biology major because everyone has heard of biology, but few know what a biologist does with that degree. Changing the narrative to people knowing what medical laboratory science is and understanding our worth to public health is vital. Everyone has had something at stake with public health at some point. Meeting people where they are, whether through media, campaigns, or increased awareness is how we can attract and retain more talented scientists to our cause. 

Heather Keir: Attracting highly skilled scientists to the field of pediatric and perinatal pathology necessitates addressing several crucial factors that influence career decisions. To achieve this, some of the following strategies could be considered:

• Introduce medical students and trainees to pediatric and perinatal pathology through rotations, lectures, projects, and workshops. Emphasize the unique and impactful nature of the work by sharing compelling stories and case studies that illustrate the vital role of pediatric and perinatal pathologists in diagnosing and managing rare and complex conditions. 
• Where dedicated training programmes do not exist, develop and promote fellowship programs that provide in-depth training in pediatric and perinatal pathology, offering hands-on experience with diverse cases. 
• Establish mentorship programs that connect trainees with experienced pathologists who can provide guidance, support, and career advice. 
• Offer flexible work schedules, part-time positions, and opportunities for remote work to enhance work-life balance. 
• Create a supportive and collaborative work environment that fosters professional growth and job satisfaction. 
• Clearly outline the various career pathways within pediatric and perinatal pathology, including opportunities in clinical practice, research, academia, and industry. 
• Promote opportunities for professional development, including continuing education, leadership roles, and participation in professional organizations. 
• Increase funding for research in pediatric and perinatal pathology to support innovative projects and attract researchers interested in making significant contributions to the field.

By implementing these strategies, we can attract more talented medics to this critical field and ensure the continued advancement of pediatric and perinatal pathology.

John Overton: I think we need to be proactive about integrating pathology into clinical rotations in our medical schools. Students deserve to glimpse the day-to-day life of pathologists. In turn, pathologists deserve to have patient-facing colleagues that understand how to properly consult them. It should almost be a graduation requirement for students to follow one of their patient’s samples from phlebotomy to the lab, and eventually into the EHR – or a piece of tissue from surgery into the gross room and eventually onto the microscope. 

I think pathology student interest groups also have a role to play. Students, team up with your peers who are planning to be surgeons and hold an intraoperative frozen section workshop. Reach out to your future internists and heme/onc hopefuls and organize hands-on bone marrow biopsy training. Tag along to the future radiologist’s ultrasound workshops and show them how a rapid onsite evaluation might be performed after a simulated FNA. 

I don’t think we need to make the specialty more attractive or “sell” it in a certain way – it’s more a problem of giving learners proper exposure to the field. Be visible, enthusiastic, and interdisciplinary to show our colleagues what pathologists do and how we can team up to make patients better. 

Kelsey Hummel: We must embrace an approach that engages talented scientists at multiple stages of their journey. Reflect on the interactions that inspired you to choose medicine. Imagine placing pathologists in those transformative situations. For me, these were conversations with my primary care provider as a child and meeting a medical student who volunteered at the medical examiner’s office. 

We need to be a contact point for questions and a bridge to experiences that can ignite a student's career. Connecting students – whether in high school, undergrad, or medical school – with working pathologists is monumental. This is our opportunity to actively demonstrate the real-world relevance of the knowledge they acquire in school.

Within clerkships, interactions with residents, fellows, and attendings become crucial. Be an active, engaged teacher. When working with students, focus not just on getting the job done but also on encouraging exploration and inquisitiveness. These seemingly small interactions have colossal impacts.

Remember, it's not just about showcasing the pathology specialty; it’s about fostering an environment where people feel inspired and supported. Spread the word, be accessible, and make this pathology journey open to everyone. 

Nicole Aqui: Show them we’re not antisocial nerds hiding in the basement because we don't like talking to people – just kidding (but not really). If we’re excited about what we do, others will see it too. But for that to happen, we must engage! And we need to start early. At UPenn, we have a pipeline program that brings undergraduates into the department to complete mentored research projects. We also expose them to different sections in anatomic and clinical pathology, so they get a better understanding of our specialty and how their research can lead to improvements in patient care through the development of new tests and therapeutic targets.

Pathology is being squeezed out of the curriculum at many medical schools, so we have to be intentional in how we market ourselves and our specialty to inspire the next generation of pathology leaders.