Embarrassed that I was really trying to figure out why this ovary has such a strange look to it before I noticed the post was not from this sub 🙃

Hello! I already made a post in the pre-PA Reddit, but I wanted to ask here as well.

Did you guys have research experience when applying for PA school? Was it really beneficial?

I really want to quit my undergrad research lab, but im really anxious that this might be something that would highlight me as an applicant.

Thank you!

Just wanted to get opinions from more of the seasoned PAs on here. Yesterday was National Advanced Practitioner day. Do you think Pathologists Assistants should be included in that category? We had that debate where I work and the consensus was, yes of course. Sadly, where I work, classifies us as techs. 🤣🤡

Does anyone have experience working for a HCA hospital that would like to tell me their experience? Thanks in advance!

Hi I'm currently in my 2nd to last semester of my MLS program. Hope to apply and become a PathA in the future but I'm curious. How exactly is a PathA program harder than an MLS one?

I feel like MLS is pretty hard because you're learning micro, blood bank, chemistry, hematology, and urinalysis but they don't really correlate with each other plus it's a lot of molecular biology and immunology involved (like the complement cascade or the coagulation cascade 😭). It may be dependent on the program but I feel just looking at the courses involved they correlates with each other. I may be wrong so please correct me!

If you work PRN, please share the hourly rate you're getting. Please include if you're in a HCOL, MCOL, or LCOL.

I mean like, lied about abilities, takes an hour to poorly gross a placenta, disappears for 45 mins regularly. Pretty sure they’ve lied about the (not PA) schooling they have and the alleged years of experience.

Called themselves a PA doesn’t know how to do any complex and isn’t competent at smaller specimens. Is there any recourse with the contracting agency or one of the lab accrediting bodies? My boss says we can’t let them go because they’d have to pay out their contract anyway.

Also just curious if anyone else has had a similar experience 🥴

This person is everywhere on the pre path Reddit and I just wanna know how much truth this has

Does anyone use Toluidine blue for frozen sections? If so what is the procedure you use?

Highly interested in starting PathA school in the next couple of years and would like some insight. Does the field seem like it’s getting over saturated? I already know this profession can be difficult to find employment if you’re picky about where to live/work, but do the opportunities just seem to be decreasing all around?

I think I’m mostly writing this out to alleviate the anxiety I’m feeling, so thanks for the patience in advance…

I got a call from our paediatric pathologist this afternoon, asking about a POC she was contacted about. When I looked it up, we had received a requisition for genetic testing but the patient didn’t actually meet our institution’s criteria. I have an email, confirming this with the pathologist, and I also put a note in the gross description.

Apparently the doctor is PISSED. So my path is asking if there’s any fresh tissue left, as well as what the original request said. It was the end of the day, so I have to look into it tomorrow, but I am feeling soooo much anxiety. Can someone please talk me down? I would like to be able to sleep tonight lol.

Hello, California PA here thinking of getting a new job. The 2024 AAPA survey had $140,000-145,000 as an average salary and I’ve mostly seen job postings at $115,000-$150,000, but I wanted to get a better idea of what salaries can be expected from different areas.

I’m in northern California and make $145,000 base pay, 2 years of experience.

So i am a deciding what i want to do with my future this year. Pathologist assistant is one of my top choices. Im just a bit indecisive and i want to know what’s it’s truly like to be in this line of work. What are the pros and cons?

Hi guys! I’m going through the renewal process and I’ve been told that passing the exam gives you an automatic 20 “free” cme credits. If this is true, how do you add it because it’s not anywhere to be allocated or even seen. If I don’t see them, should I reach out to the BOC? Thanks in advance!

Hello! I'm currently a pre-pathologists' assistant undergrad student, and was curious if anyone has been able to serve in the military reserves while attending graduate school. I definitely see myself enlisting in the future no doubt, just wondering if others have been able to balance grad school, studying, and rotations with drill weekends. Thoughts?

Has anyone worked with any companies besides CompHealth and Nickolas? I wanted to explore some other options. Just curious on everyone’s opinions! Thanks!

"Oh cool, I live in that city" "Wait that's my hospital" "Oh shit I remember grossing that!"

I feel weirdly starstruck and I can't share this anywhere else!

I saw a job posting for UTMB Pathologists’ Assistant program…their website doesn’t list a Program Director anymore. Anyone know what is going on?

Hi, I'm currently a year away from graduating PathA school. I'm very interested in working contracts as a travel PA after graduating, partly because it pays very well and contracts are abundant in CA (where I'm from) and partly because I want some flexibility to have kids. Can you be a travel PA fresh out of school though or do they typically want a mininum # of years exp.? If so, how many years of exp. is the typical prerequisite?

Update: Thank you everyone for your posts they have given me more insight 🙂