Who says veterinary pathologists spend all day staring into test tubes?
As a NASA astronaut, Dr. Richard Linnehan spent 43 days in space and went
on three spacewalks!
It's true that most veterinary pathologists are not as out of this world
as Linnehan. But that doesn't mean their work isn't exciting.
Dr. K. Paige Carmichael is a pathologist at the University of Georgia.
Carmichael started out wanting to be a veterinarian specializing in cats.
While she was in veterinary college, she became interested in clinical pathology.
That means studying blood cells and other cells to help diagnose disease in
living animals.
Her interest grew. "How I switched from wanting a private practice to a
career in veterinary pathology is a mystery to me," she says with a laugh.
Carmichael's education and training lasted for 12 years. She says this
is faster than average. "I fast tracked and combined my PhD and my residency,"
she says.
Carmichael's work at the university is divided into three components. She
teaches students, conducts research around neurological diseases in dogs,
and works in the necropsy floor. A necropsy is when you perform an autopsy
on an animal to find out why it died.
"I'm doing some of what I originally wanted to do as a veterinarian," she
says. "I recently described a brand new disease that feline leukemia causes
in cats."
Carmichael estimates her workweek varies between 60 and 80 hours. It doesn't
seem like a lot because she enjoys her work. Every day is different.
"I never know what is going to be presented to me from day to day," she
says. "That makes it interesting. It can also be frustrating because I cannot
plan my day."
Carmichael compares pathology to having a marvelous little secret window
into the workings of a dog, a cat, a pig or a horse. She gets
frustrated when students think a pathologist just cuts animals up into little
pieces and spends their time in a bloody and smelly lab.
"There is so much more to it," she says. "It's like getting a secret telescope
to Mars!"
Carmichael says that veterinary pathology is the doorway to many fields.
"One of my ex-students is up on Capitol Hill right now. And one of the senior
VPs of Coca-Cola is a veterinary pathologist."
Dr. Kevin Keel is a veterinary pathologist with the University of Arizona.
His interest in infectious diseases in wildlife led him to veterinary pathology.
After veterinary school, Keel went into postgraduate work in pathology.
In his current job, Keel does some teaching, helps in the pathology laboratory,
does diagnostic work at the state diagnostic laboratory and pursues his PhD
research.
Keel says that pathologists make many new discoveries because the area
is so broad and there is still much to learn. "I like this work because it
is a very complex problem," he says. "I've always enjoyed trying to understand
how a human or animal body responds to infections."
He enjoys finding information that helps people protect animal herds, livestock
and pets. "That's what makes it so exciting and rewarding," he says. "You
never know what you are going to find."
Keel doesn't find his work stressful. He points out that the work can be
stressful in some circumstances, though. For example, if there is a health
problem in a herd of cattle, you can find yourself in an urgent situation
where people want answers quickly.
The bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) problem is an example.
Pathologists working in that field are under a lot of pressure to come up
with answers.
Keel says it's important to have a good grade point average to be accepted
into veterinary school. "Your GPA is not everything," he says. "You also need
practical experience and experience working with animals."
Dr Grant Spearman is president of the Canadian Association of Veterinary
Pathologists. His training involved two years of pre-vet studies, four years
studying veterinary medicine and a year of postgraduate training in mammalian
pathology.
Spearman currently works in a government laboratory. Clinical veterinarians,
animal owners and agribusinesses submit cases and material to the lab. Spearman
and his colleagues perform tests such as necropsies. They also work in histology
(blood work), bacteriology, virology and toxicology.
They evaluate reports from reference labs to help put out final reports.
Also, they provide scientific information to veterinarians, agribusinesses,
animal owners and other government departments. They also work with humane
societies and law enforcement agencies on legal cases.
The cases Spearman receives are usually the most interesting and challenging
problems that individual veterinarians need help with. "We use scientific
applied research techniques to find solutions to our client's problems," he
says. "We can have a marked social-economic impact when problems are solved."
Spearman works about 40 hours a week. He seldom works overtime and rarely
travels for work. He enjoys coming to work each day because every case is
different. He enjoys problem solving and doesn't experience stress on the
job.
"You learn to be flexible when working with guidelines and with different
people," he explains. "If you can't do that, there is a good chance that you
will be a stressed person."