thiruki@ipns.com |
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Who would hire this guy?
A bit about my work
The title
I am an anatomic pathologist with a subspecialty interest in
gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and pancreatic pathology
(and have been lucky enough to actually work as one!).
What does that mouthful mean?
I am a medical doctor whose specialty is anatomic pathology. Pathologists examine patients in part (biopsies and surgically removed pieces) while they are living and in whole (autopsies) when they die in order to determine what is wrong with them. Mostly this involves assessing human tissue with the naked eye and a light microscope, but more sophisticated tests are available to us if needed. I deal with all parts of the human body, but I am particularly interested in diseases of the esophagus, stomach and intestines (the "gut"), liver and biliary system (including the gallbladder) and the pancreas. The diagnoses made by pathologists assist physicians and surgeons in planning the treatment and follow-up of patients under their care. The disease incidence statistics generated are used by public health agencies to determine health care policy.
The location
Pathologists are relatively mobile medical specialists.
Because they do not deal directly with patients, they can go anywhere,
even for a short time, and have a ready-made "practice".
The nature of our work limits us to places where pathology laboratories exist, which tend to be larger population centres,
especially with the recent trend toward regionalized health care and laboratory amalgamation.
Since graduation, my work has taken me to
Vancouver, British Columbia,
to Prince George, British Columbia,
to Kingston, Ontario,
to Toronto, Ontario,
to Victoria, British Columbia,
and most recently to
Portland, Oregon, where I worked part-time in the
Department of Pathology at
Oregon Health & Science University
while doing Master's-level studies in the
Division of Medical Informatics & Outcomes Research at OHSU.
The job (Work, work, work!)
Pathology jobs fall into two broad categories:
- "Community": Work at primary- and secondary-care hospitals and tend to be
General Pathologists, jacks-of-all-(pathology)-trades.
They are primarily concerned with issuing diagnoses on the diseased tissue sent to them,
a significant job in itself.
- "Academic": Usually are subspecialists who have in-depth expertise in a specific area of pathology.
They work at university-affiliated, tertiary-care hospitals in positions that are really three jobs in one:
Diagnostician
Finding time to do all three well is difficult, but I have tried! Read the detailed version in my curriculum vitae (that's academicspeak for "resume"!).
Dr. Tadaaki Hiruki
Department of Pathology
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, L471
Portland, Oregon, USA 97201-3098
E-mail: thiruki@ipns.com
visitors since 22 June 1998