Department of Pathology, Russian State Research Center-Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of the Federal Medical Biological Agency, Moscow, Russia.
Department of Pathology, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Japan.
Am J Clin Pathol. 2023 Dec 1;160(6):593-598. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/aqad091.
Health care systems worldwide are facing a shortage in the pathology workforce that could negatively affect health care services, particularly oncology. To address this potential shortfall, the pathology community must identify the reasons why graduating students are not choosing pathology as a specialty.
We analyzed 226 free-text essay responses submitted by nonpathology residents at a teaching hospital. We used a general inductive approach and quantitative analysis to identify the barriers that prevent medical college graduates from choosing pathology as a specialty.
Residents at our institution view pathology similar to residents from other countries, with the main obstacles to choosing pathology as a specialty being a perception that it lacks practical application to patient care or provides "no real help" and has a lack of patient interaction. In Russia specifically, there is a focus on the perceived negative aspects of autopsy as a barrier to selecting pathology. Less significant factors that may be based more on stereotypes than reality include the expectation that the work is not engaging, the emotional burden, and the occupational risks.
For medical students who place less importance on patient interaction, addressing these secondary factors could help select potential pathologists during students' undergraduate years.
全球医疗体系正面临病理学领域人才短缺的问题，这可能会对医疗服务（尤其是肿瘤学）产生负面影响。为了解决这一潜在问题，病理学领域必须找出应届毕业生为何不选择病理学作为专业的原因。
我们分析了一家教学医院的 226 名非病理学住院医师提交的 226 篇自由文本文章。我们采用了一般归纳法和定量分析来确定阻碍医学院毕业生选择病理学作为专业的障碍。
我们机构的住院医师对病理学的看法与其他国家的住院医师相似，选择病理学作为专业的主要障碍是认为它缺乏对患者护理的实际应用或提供“没有真正的帮助”，并且缺乏与患者的互动。具体在俄罗斯，人们特别关注解剖作为选择病理学的障碍的负面看法。可能更多基于刻板印象而不是现实的其他不太重要的因素包括工作不吸引人、情绪负担和职业风险。
对于那些不太重视与患者互动的医学生来说，在学生本科阶段解决这些次要因素可能有助于选拔潜在的病理学家。
