Skills Required to be a Good Histopathologist

To be a good histopathologist, you need the following skillset:

• Interested in pathology and the study of disease.
• Enjoys learning: there is a lot to learn and our understanding of disease is constantly growing, meaning you’ll need to be a life-long learner.
• Good time management skills: the varied workload means that there will be many demands on your time.
• Attention to detail: really important at cut-up/grossing (macroscopic description of specimens), microscopy and ensuring that the right diagnosis is assigned to the right tissue which is assigned to the right patient.
• Good communication skills: both written (the pathology report) and verbal (at the multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT)).
• Team-player: the histopathology team comprises consultants, trainees, biomedical scientists, secretaries etc.
• Comfortable working independently: whilst histopathologists consult colleagues about challenging cases, a significant number of diagnoses are made solo.

Got these skills? Then you’re suited to histopathology… consider applying for a histopathology training number! It might be one of the best decisions you ever make!