Entry-Level Expectations for Pathologists' Assistants.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess expectations of performance that exist in the marketplace for entry-level pathologists' assistants (PathAs), defined as recent graduates of a pathologists' assistant program on their first day of employment. METHODS: A voluntary, anonymous survey was distributed to pathologist and PathA members of the American Society for Clinical Pathology by email. We assessed 98 professional activities of PathAs using a 5-point scale of expectations based on levels of trust placed in them. We also collected demographic information. RESULTS: A total of 728 participants responded to this survey, including 280 pathologists and 448 PathAs. We classified 98 activities according to expectations: independent performance (20/98), developing independence (48/98), and not expected of PathAs (5/98). Some activities (25/98) were indeterminate yet likely represent areas of developing independence. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates an expectation for entry-level PathAs to perform some activities included in the scope of practice independently but eventually to develop independent proficiency for most professional activities. A minority of activities were identified as responsibilities that are not expected of PathAs. Entry-level PathAs, therefore, remain "works in progress," with an expectation for independent performance of core activities while developing abilities in many areas of professional practice.

Collection protocol for human pancreas.

This dissection and sampling procedure was developed for the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) program to standardize preparation of pancreas recovered from cadaveric organ donors. The pancreas is divided into 3 main regions (head, body, tail) followed by serial transverse sections throughout the medial to lateral axis. Alternating sections are used for fixed paraffin and fresh frozen blocks and remnant samples are minced for snap frozen sample preparations, either with or without RNAse inhibitors, for DNA, RNA, or protein isolation. The overall goal of the pancreas dissection procedure is to sample the entire pancreas while maintaining anatomical orientation. Endocrine cell heterogeneity in terms of islet composition, size, and numbers is reported for human islets compared to rodent islets. The majority of human islets from the pancreas head, body and tail regions are composed of insulin-containing ß-cells followed by lower proportions of glucagon-containing α-cells and somatostatin-containing δ-cells. Pancreatic polypeptide-containing PP cells and ghrelin-containing epsilon cells are also present but in small numbers. In contrast, the uncinate region contains islets that are primarily composed of pancreatic polypeptide-containing PP cells. These regional islet variations arise from developmental differences. The pancreas develops from the ventral and dorsal pancreatic buds in the foregut and after rotation of the stomach and duodenum, the ventral lobe moves and fuses with the dorsal. The ventral lobe forms the posterior portion of the head including the uncinate process while the dorsal lobe gives rise to the rest of the organ. Regional pancreatic variation is also reported with the tail region having higher islet density compared to other regions and the dorsal lobe-derived components undergoing selective atrophy in type 1 diabetes. Additional organs and tissues are often recovered from the organ donors and include pancreatic lymph nodes, spleen and non-pancreatic lymph nodes. These samples are recovered with similar formats as for the pancreas with the addition of isolation of cryopreserved cells. When the proximal duodenum is included with the pancreas, duodenal mucosa may be collected for paraffin and frozen blocks and minced snap frozen preparations.