The Pathologist: Essential but underappreciated

Allow me to discuss the pathologist’s role in health care.

- RAYMUND W. LO, MD, FPSP

The public often has no idea what a pathologist is or what one does. I often have to explain what I do in so many words.

Pathology is the study of diseases. Medical students take a year-round course in pathology. If one flunks the subject, he/she is dropped automatically from the rolls. Such is the high regard for the subject since it is the bedrock of the practice of medicine. One has to know what the disease is before it can be treated properly.

But pathology is also a specialty, like internal medicine, surgery, OB-GYN or pediatrics. Upon passing medical licensure examinations, one has to undergo four years of residency training, and pass certifying board examinations given by the Philippine Society of Pathologists Inc., to practice either anatomic pathology or clinical pathology or both.

As medical professionals, we also charge professional fees for our services, which are much like radiologists who interpret images (x-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs). It is a specialty that charges the least, and because we are hidden from public view, pathologists often suffer from discrimination from other medical specialists, who treat us like second-class citizens.