Traveling Pathologists' Assistant - a Dream Job

aka Traveling Pathologists' Assistant - A Dream Job

First: A long-winded and (initially) apparently unrelated introduction to how my job allows me to travel.
In 6th grade I had to quit going to Art class because the schedules for Band and Art overlapped. While 11 is young to start culling things from one's life, I knew I'd always have art outside of school and if my record with practicing piano was any indication, music was only there by force. Even before school, art was a major part of growing up. My kindergarten birthday was a simple craft party. I remember being a little disappointed that I wouldn’t be garnering new crafting skills and worried that my friends would be bored. My mom remembers being horrified at the other kids’ lack of familiarity with glue guns and scissors and calling for reinforcements almost immediately. Even my favorite holidays revolve around crafts: Halloween (and my yearly Oscar party) because of the opportunity to make and wear outrageous costumes and Christmas because one can design, make, and send Christmas cards.

I am not otherwise a Christmas-crazy person. I don’t put up decorations or listen to Christmas music. I don’t care about the gifts and I don’t bother with going “home” for the holidays. This is not because I don’t believe in the message of Christmas, but the Christmas spectacle is so far removed from the meaning as to be wholly separate in my mind. And Christmas cards are my only indulgence in this wholly separate holiday. My first Christmas card design was an infographic about my first year of adult life. It proudly displayed I spent 24% of my income that year on travel. That may seem like a lot, but I have always been taught the Mark Cuban method when it comes to money (don't spend it) and so my remaining expenses were so minimal that I even paid back all my grad school loans in the 6 months after graduation.

yes, I listed Hurricane Sandy as an “Outdoor Adventure”.

The main contributing factor though, was my job. My first year as a full time employee I finagled my way to 51 paid vacation days (and spent some of them here). I thought I was killing it. Now, 7 years later, I have virtually unlimited vacation days, make more than I did working full time in NYC, and my company flies me all over the US (and sometimes overseas) but only if I agree to go.

“What is this dream job?” you may ask.

A Traveling Pathologists' Assistant aka Locum Tenens PA

If you're asking yourself "What do you do and why does it exist?" read this statistic-infused plug. If not, move past the next three paragraphs to the good stuff.

Healthcare is a trillion dollar industry and it is always looking for ways to increase efficiency. I, and PAs like me, take over the role of dissection and description that used to fall on the pathologists' shoulders thus freeing up their time for the parts of their job that require even more advanced training like reading slides and rendering diagnosis. If you didn't know, (mostly) everything removed from a body during surgery has to be accounted for by a pathologist. Sometimes it is just to ensure an insurance company that a procedure was completed and necessary, but mostly to provide the physician and patient with a diagnosis (what is wrong) and a prognosis (how bad it is). Most of the information needed requires a microscope to view the cells and their relationships - that’s what the pathologist does. Slides are made from sections of tissue for the pathologist to review. But someone has to take the slices of tissue to make into slides to view with the microscope, and some important diagnostic information can be determined "grossly" or with the naked eye. These are where I come in. Using knowledge of pathology and the patient's clinical history, PAs describe pertinent visual information and determine which parts of the tissue the pathologist will view under the microscope. While not for a person with a weak stomach, the job is undoubtedly interesting and can be very fulfilling.

In the US and worldwide there is a shortage of trained pathologists. There are just over 6,200 hospitals in the US and less than 13,000 pathologists. Domestically we saw a rapid decline in pathologists since 2007, falling to less than 1.5% of the total physician population and less than 4 per 100,000 people. Worldwide the problem is even more severe: South Africa has 100 pathologists for 55 million people and at least 5 countries in Africa have none. To add fuel to the fire, pathology is becoming more complex and time consuming: more specified tests, far-flung diseases, aging population, and increased cancer rates to name a few. As the problem persists, Pathologists' Assistants are becoming a more involved and desirable resource.

But Pathologists' Assistants are a small breed in their own right even though in the past decade it has increased in popularity with roughly 80 students graduating with the degree each of the past 5 years. I graduated in 2012 and was only the 1623rd certified PA(ASCP) since its inception in 1977. Thus, PAs are also in demand, and there are always more openings than people qualified to fill them. Locum Tenens PAs fill the gap for these facilities until they can find a full time hire, or while a currently employed PA is on maternity leave, or vacation, or to help them decide if hiring a PA is a good fit and the value of a PA to their institution.

The good stuff: I’d always said I wanted to travel for work, but my friends who were accountants, sales reps, and the like seemed to hate it. Luckily, “traveling for work” as a PA is much different than what my friends experienced. Although technically an employee, practically I function more like an independent contractor. I can say NO to a job based on my own criteria. I am not forced to go to a place or at a time I don’t want to. Job lengths range from one day to 6 months, with the length of contract known at the onset. If I had a dog or spouse or child, they could join me on my trip and the expense would be covered by the company – including airfare and accommodations. Like business travelers, my company is more than happy to pay up front for my lodging, rental car, and flights but I also have the option to take them as an “allowance”. My allowances – think food, car, and lodging - are paid at a nightly rate which I can allocate as I choose. If I don’t want to spend $50 a day on food, I can pocket what I don’t spend or get a nicer place to stay. It is all dependent on my preferences.

Aside from the financial rewards (and the essentially free accumulation of travel miles/points), changing jobs so frequently means I am constantly altering the way I perform, which keeps me on my toes and the keeps the work from getting stale. It keeps me adaptable and flexible which are great traits to have generally, but transition well to traveling in general. I also get to meet new and interesting people at every new job and am essentially paid to be on vacation most of the time. While I take advantage of time between assignments to head overseas, I also make sure that I take time to explore the cities I work in and around. Sure I put in my 40 hours a week, but the weekends and evenings are still mine to do with as I choose and I have found myself in some pretty amazing places.

This career is a perfect combination of all the things I want - flexibility, freedom, and funds. It feeds both me and my fernweh. If you want to learn more about my job and the cities it takes me to, comment below. Maybe I’ll be coming soon to a city near you!