Ana Duarte-Seykora - Pathology

 Pathology: A New Digital Era


Pathology is a medical science that focuses on the study and diagnosis of diseases through the examination of specimens, including tissues, tumors, and bodily fluids. This field is divided into two main categories, Anatomical and Clinical Pathology, and both need extensive laboratory practice and experience. Hands-on involvement and detailed analysis are essential to this line of work, but what will happen to Pathology if it starts to become desolate? 


Workforce shortages are one of the global challenges pathology is facing today. The National Institute of Health states that from 2007 to 2017, there has been a dramatic 17.53% decrease in the number of active pathologists in the United States. This can be attributed to the increasing percentage of older scientists and the reality that medical school graduates are not choosing pathology as a career. The lack of pathologists is detrimental in developing countries especially because it can lead to delays in diagnosis or even misdiagnosis. According to a study published by the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, For example, Uganda has only 18 pathologists for 28 million people, and Tanzania has 15 for 38 million (Benediktsson, et al., 2007) However, there is a digital solution to this issue.

Source: The Dark Report


The main focus of integrating pathology into the digital industry is to maximize productivity instead of perfecting medical accuracy. However, with the help of AI-driven data, digital pathology’s limits are not confined to these surface-level observations. In pathology, AI has extreme capabilities as it can provide knowledge not explored before, contributing to the advancement of science. Combining existing data with AI will progress the field’s ultimate job of diagnosing and treating patients.

Source: Prosica (Slide presented by Nathan Buchbinder)



Works Cited

Benediktsson, et. al, Hallgrímur. “Pathology Services in Developing Countries: A Challenge | Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.” Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Nov. 2007, meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/131/11/1636/460068/Pathology-Services-in-Developing-Countries-A. 


Faber, Ashley. “Rewiring Pathology for Precision Medicine: Key Insights from the State of Precision Medicine Summit 2025.” Proscia, 20 Mar. 2025, proscia.com/rewiring-pathology-for-precision-medicine-key-insights-from-the-state-of-precision-medicine-summit-2025/.

Walsh, Elizabeth, and Nicolas M Orsi. “The Current Troubled State of the Global Pathology Workforce: A Concise Review.” Diagnostic Pathology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 21 Dec. 2024, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11662708/. 



About the Author: Hi! My name is Ana and I am an up-coming senior in high school. I am extremely fascinated by pathology and hope to have a career in it in the future. Being able to determine diseases just by looking at something so small is a talent that can help many and I hope to contribute to that. I will continue to work hard to the best of my abilities to share what I aspire to do!

Comments

  1. BlairJuly 25, 2025 at 10:06 AM

    I like how you not only talked about how what pathology is, but also spoke about how there is a workplace shortage. Someone reading this might have the credentials to be a pathologist and realize that they could find a new career path.

    ReplyDelete
  2. LeahJuly 25, 2025 at 10:28 AM

    Thank you for teaching me something new! I had no idea there was a shortage on pathologists. I now realize how necessary they are, and I hope your article inspires others to pursue pathology. Great article Ana!

    ReplyDelete

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