Why a Pathologist's Assistant?

So, the big question, arguably the most important to me right now, as the answer will be guiding the next few years as I tackle pre-reqs and applications, and my acceptance into a program could literally depend on it.
The short answer is, it just feels right. It sounds like a cool job. And interesting, challenging, and fitting for the kind of person I am.


For those of you unfamiliar with the profession, a pathologist's assistant is a bit akin to a physician's assistant in that they practice under a medical doctor or pathologist (also an MD), doing a lot of the hands-on work as an extension of the MD. Both are also master's degrees and require certification. A pathologist's assistant (from here on out abbreviated as a PA) is responsible for the gross examination of surgical specimens (such as biopsies, lab tests, etc) including preparing samples or slides for the pathologist, and also assisting with autopsies. The pathologist, as a board-certified physician, gives the final diagnosis, but the PA's work is integral in this process. And PAs are in high demand for a few reasons, including reducing costs, increasing efficacy, and decreased number of pathology residents, so it's also lucrative and well-paying.

Cool, huh? Maybe not to everyone - the idea of handling organs and tissues pieces probably sounds awful to most people, but throw me a pair of gloves and I'll touch anything. Seriously, I clean up after the dirtiest of animals volunteering at the local humane society. Never own a pet duck.
Anyways, I've always had an interest in the health sciences, likely due to my being raised by a nurse, my mom. Perhaps it was her dinner-time conversation topics that steeled my stomach for medical oddities. (If you know a nurse and have asked them how their day was over a meal, you know what I'm talking about.) My mom is probably also responsible for my zeal for education - over my lifetime she's gone from RN, to BSN, to NP (Nurse practitioner, a Master's degree), and currently she is finishing her final project to complete her Doctorate in nursing. I will also credit my dad, an engineer, for my knack for problem-solving - I have always enjoyed puzzles and problems, and for the last few years I have been working as an analyst. So it makes sense a PA would appeal to me, as a job in health care where finding the problem is the basic goal. And not just any problems, these are problems that can change a person's life, or death - is the mass benign? has all the tumor been removed? was the death natural or is foul play suspected?
Two other big pros - I don't have to treat (living) people, and I'll get to wear scrubs to work. :D

As I said, this is the most important question I have to keep in mind right now. At this moment I am planning on roughly 2 years of preparing to apply to programs, and upon acceptance, 2 years in the program. So with that long of a tunnel ahead of me, it is good to keep the end goal in mind, and keep walking forward.

And with that:
I'm going to keep going until I succeed — or die. -Harry Potter