This holiday is dedicated to people who have chosen one of the most unusual professions.
The widespread opinion in everyday life is that pathologists only “cut corpses” and it is absolutely erroneous. The professional standard of this specialty is to conduct both intravital and post-mortem pathoanatomical studies in the diagnosis of human diseases.
In their professional activities, pathologists solve a number of tasks: intravital morphological diagnosis of diseases and pathological processes using histological, histochemical, immunohistochemical and other methods for studying diagnostic, surgical material and afterbirths; dynamic control over the effectiveness of treatment through the production of repeated intravital morphological studies; determination of the causes and mechanisms of death of the patient by pathoanatomical autopsy and subsequent morphological (if necessary, bacteriological, virological, serological, etc.) examination of organs and tissues; analysis of the results of post-mortem diagnostics of diseases and pathological processes based on the materials of post-mortem autopsies; assessment of the quality of clinical diagnosis and treatment based on clinical and morphological comparisons; analysis of the structure of mortality and the quality of intravital diagnostics based on the materials of pathoanatomical studies in hospitals and institutions of the outpatient network.
– Currently, in the healthcare system, pathologists are highly demanded specialists due to the lack of staffing of pathological and anatomical bureaus (departments) – in the whole country, the staffing of pathologists is 55.8%. In view of this, it should be noted that recently the interest of graduates in our specialty has grown markedly, – says the head of the Department of Pathological Anatomy of KSMU, Candidate of Medical Sciences V.T.Dudka. – To become a pathologist, you must have a diploma of higher education – a specialist in one of the specialties: “General Medicine” or “Pediatrics” with subsequent training in clinical residency in the specialty “pathological anatomy” in the system of postgraduate education. The subject “Pathological anatomy” is studied by students of the medical faculty in the 3rd and 6th years, by students of the pediatric faculty – in the 3-4th courses. The discipline is complex, but extremely important for the subsequent study of clinical disciplines. Foreign students show great interest in pathological anatomy. Students are trained at the department and at clinical sites – in the pathoanatomical bureau and pathoanatomical departments of practical health care institutions of the Kursk region.
The COVID-19 epidemic has also changed the work of pathologists. Pathologists study morphological changes in tissues with COVID-19, which allows them to better understand the essence of the disease and find methods for its radical treatment. The work is organized according to the same principles as in the “red zone”: in a protective suit, compliance with anti-epidemic rules in order to prevent infection from entering the “clean zone”. Despite the significantly increased workload, pathologists are studying the pathogenesis and pathological anatomy of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 using the entire arsenal of modern research methods, which is extremely important for taking effective measures to prevent and treat the disease.
Thus, the pathological service is one of the most important components of health care, and the mission of the pathologist coincides with the mission of other doctors and is aimed at preserving human life and health.
Congratulations to pathologists on their professional holiday!