PATHOLOGIST

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Diagnose presence and stage of diseases using laboratory techniques and patient specimens. Study the nature, cause, and development of diseases. May perform autopsies.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Testify in depositions or trials as an expert witness.
• 2) Review cases by analyzing autopsies, laboratory findings, or case investigation reports.
• 3) Manage medical laboratories.
• 4) Read current literature, talk with colleagues, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in pathology.
• 5) Develop or adopt new tests or instruments to improve diagnosis of diseases.
• 6) Educate physicians, students, and other personnel in medical laboratory professions such as medical technology, cytotechnology, and histotechnology.
• 7) Conduct research and present scientific findings.
• 8) Perform autopsies to determine causes of deaths.
• 9) Plan and supervise the work of the pathology staff, residents or visiting pathologists.
• 10) Obtain specimens by performing procedures such as biopsies and fine need aspirations (FNAs) of superficial nodules.
• 11) Identify the etiology, pathogenesis, morphological change, and clinical significance of diseases.
• 12) Diagnose infections, such as Hepatitis B and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), by conducting tests to detect the antibodies that patients’ immune systems make to fight such infections.
• 13) Conduct genetic analyses of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or chromosomes to diagnose small biopsies and cell samples.
• 14) Write pathology reports summarizing analyses, results, and conclusions.
• 15) Analyze and interpret results from tests such as microbial or parasite tests, urine analyses, hormonal assays, fine needle aspirations (FNAs), and polymerase chain reactions (PCRs).
• 16) Communicate pathologic findings to surgeons or other physicians.
• 17) Consult with physicians about ordering and interpreting tests or providing treatments.
• 18) Examine microscopic samples to identify diseases or other abnormalities.
• 19) Diagnose diseases or study medical conditions using techniques such as gross pathology, histology, cytology, cytopathology, clinical chemistry, immunology, flow cytometry, and molecular biology.

Activities:

• 1) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 2) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 3) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• 4) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 5) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 6) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 7) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 8) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 9) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 10) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 11) Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• 12) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 13) Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• 14) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 15) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 16) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 17) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 18) Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• 19) Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• 20) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 21) Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• 22) Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• 23) Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• 24) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 25) Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• 26) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 27) Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• 28) Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Abilities:

• 1) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 2) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 3) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 4) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 5) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 6) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 7) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 8) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 9) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 10) Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• 11) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 12) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 13) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 14) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 15) Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Knowledge

• 1) Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• 2) Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 3) English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 4) Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• 5) Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 6) Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• 7) Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• 8) Personnel and Human Resources — Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• 9) Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• 10) Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• 11) Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• 12) Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• 13) Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.