So Why Pathology?

I've always loved anatomy and physiology and in fact it was my favorite class during high school. The time spent studying about the human body in high school led me to want to learn more about the human body and disease. At the time, I had no idea of the existence of the profession of pathologists' assistant, so I had in fact intended on studying to become a pathologist.

During college I was able to satiate another deep interest of mine, the Japanese language. While studying at California State University Fresno I was able to participate in an international exchange program with Tokiwa University in Fukushima Prefecture for a semester. My experience in Japan had left such an impact on me that I just had to go to Japan again. After graduating with a BS in Biology and a minor in Japanese, I applied to the JET Program. Miraculously, I was accepted and spent three years in Japan teaching English in a public junior high school called Shoei. That I stayed in Japan for three years attests to how amazing my time there was. Leaving my friends, students and coworkers was bittersweet, but I knew inside that I could not teach English forever.

While still in Japan, I had researched into the field of pathology and learned the existence of the profession of pathologists' assistant. To become a pathologist, one must go through four years of medical school and then go through another five to six years of residency. I'm a very patient person, but I'm not patient enough to wait ten or so years to begin working. The pathologists' assistant programs along the east coast offered me a much better alternative. If I were to be accepted into a pathologists' assistant master's program, I would only have to study for two years and then I would be eligible to sit for ASCP certification. The hardest part would be getting in.

In the state of California where I lived, there are no PA programs so I would need to apply to all of the schools to have the greatest chances of getting in. The competition is stiff and very similar to getting into medical school. (Makes sense since PA students study the same material and share some of the same classes as med school students.) There are currently eight schools in the US (and now one in Canada!) that have received accreditation from the NAACLS and I intended to apply to most of them.

You can download a nice little brochure here for information regarding all of the programs.
http://www.pathologistsassistants.org/public_content/Training_programs/AAPA%20Training%20Brochure%20-%20Single%20Pages(1).pdf
Note: These programs are for a Master's Degree with the exception of Wayne State which is for a Bachelor's of Science
Drexel University (Pennsylvania)
Duke University (North Carolina)
Indiana University (Indiana)
Quinnipiac University (Connecticut)
Rosalind Franklin University (Illinois)
University of Maryland (Maryland)
University of Western Ontario (Ontario, Canada)
Wayne State University (Michigan)
West Virginia University (West Virginia)

Have you noticed that there are no schools on the west coast?

Also note that there are private laboratories which will train you directly without having to go through a master's program. Each place differs so you'll need to do some calling around. Keep in mind that there are also advantages and disadvantages regarding whether one studies at a university or is on-the-job trained. (The most important thing is that you are competent!)

Immediately after arriving back in the US in August of 2010 I studied like a mad man for the GRE. The first place I applied to (which was also my #1 choice) was West Virginia University. Some of the things that attracted me to that school were that their schooling system started earlier than the other programs, they have access to a wide variety of facilities during the clinical rotations and their cost of tuition was more reasonable than the other schools.

I was accepted for an interview and two weeks later, while still studying for the GRE, received a phone call that would change my life.

In our lives there are certain points which we will always remember. If you ask someone, "Where were you on the morning of 9/11?" or "What was your first kiss like?" we all remember these events that have been imprinted in our minds as clearly as if it were yesterday. Hearing the magic words, "You've been accepted" was certainly one such occasion.