Task differentiation, in pathology as well

The field of clinical pathology, like other medical professions, is becoming more and more complex, leading to a need for subspecialisation and task differentiation. Whereas the deployment of Physician Assistants is common in other specialties, it is still rare in pathology. Although legal regulatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde Vol. 157; no. 19; p. A6187
Main Author Blaauwgeers, J L G Hans
Format Journal Article
LanguageDutch
Published Netherlands 2013
Subjects
Humans
Lymph Nodes - pathology
Pathology, Clinical - manpower
Pathology, Clinical - standards
Physician Assistants
Physician's Role
Task Performance and Analysis
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Summary:The field of clinical pathology, like other medical professions, is becoming more and more complex, leading to a need for subspecialisation and task differentiation. Whereas the deployment of Physician Assistants is common in other specialties, it is still rare in pathology. Although legal regulations state that histopathological diagnoses can only be made by pathologists, this does not mean that Physician Assistants cannot play a role in pathology. Within the legal regulations they can assist in screening cytological specimens and 'simple' histological specimens. They can also assist in the preparation of macroscopical specimens. These not only include specimens such as gallbladders and appendices, but also oncological specimens such as colon carcinoma resection, in which it has been demonstrated that on average, Pathology Assistants find more lymph nodes than pathologists.
ISSN:0028-2162
1876-8784